Bristol Warren Schools Participate in Roger Williams Robots Tournament

Nearly 500 elementary and middle school students competed in the 2012 FIRST LEGO^® League “Food Factor” Robotics Tournament, held on Saturday on the campus of . Rep. James R. Langevin (D-R.I.) and RWU President Donald J. Farish provided opening remarks for the Rhode Island Challenge, now in its 11th year.

A few teams from the Bristol-Warren area competed in the tournament, including two teams from and one team from .

Each member of the winning team, the self-named Mindstorms Mayhem team from All Saints Academy in Middletown, R.I., walked away with not only top honors at the competition, but a four-year RWU scholarship of $5,000 per year – a total of $200,000 in scholarship dollars awarded. This marks the fourth year the University has offered winning scholarship prizes and its sixth year hosting the tournament. Roger Williams was the first organization to offer a college scholarship to a FIRST LEGO League winning team in the international competition’s 13-year history.

During this morning’s opening ceremony, Rep. Langevin encouraged participants to continue their involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies. “Science and technology change the world; they change lives. Especially now, STEM-related studies are the key to our success as a nation, and it is programs like FIRST LEGO that give our kids the skills needed to make that kind of impact. These young people are the innovators of tomorrow.” 

Fifty-four teams of students ages 9 to 14, from across Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts, spent the morning presenting robots and research projects to judges and theafternoon on playing fields in points-based robot competitions. The team that excelled in the three judging categories – core values, robot and project – won the Champion’s Award and the tournament. Innovator and entrepreneur Kipp Bradford provided the closing keynote address to encourage students to create innovative solutions to problems they see around them.

Each team focused on this year’s “Food Factor” challenge, exploring how food gets to plates safely and ready to eat, and where along the supply chain food might be contaminated. The 54 teams also met throughout the season to design, build and program a LEGO MINDSTORMS^® NXT robot. Along the way, they identified and conducted research on a chosen food safety issue and developed an innovative solution to prevent or address the problem.

 “FIRST LEGO League introduces students to scientists and industry professionals and broadens the students’ concept of what science is,” said FIRST LEGO League Rhode Island Coordinator Mary Johnson. “The competition also encourages students to sharpen their math and science skills while discovering how innovation helps solve problems facing our communities. With Roger Williams University’s continued support and presentation of scholarships, the program is a real investment in our state’s future.”

“The values represented by the FIRST LEGO student teams today match what we stand for here at Roger Williams University,” said RWU President Donald J. Farish, Ph.D., J.D. “Not only does our institution support the notion that more study and work is necessary in the STEM areas, but we also value programs that allow elementary and middle school students to engage their inherent interest and curiosity with the environment they're living in. This is the University’s sixth year hosting the tournament and we are very proud of that.”

In last year's tournament, a team from St. Mary's Academy Bay View took the top prize, including a team member from Bristol.

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