The robotics teams from Bartlett Elementary in South Lyon have accomplished something extraordinary! The Bartlett Robo Bears have been working hard since September to compete against other Michigan teams, and now we have earned the opportunity to compete against teams around the world this spring in Houston, Texas, and Long Beach, California.

We are FIRST Lego League Challenge teams composed of fourth- and fifth-grade students, middle and high school robotics mentors, parent coaches, and volunteers. Each September the FIRST Robotics organization announces a new theme, and this year it is called “Submerged.”

Teams compete in four areas. The first is a robot game, where our students build and program a Lego robot to interact with Lego pieces to score points. Second is a robot design presentation, where we showcase how we strategized, built and engineered the robot, and programmed and documented changes to both the design and programs. A third competition challenge is similar to a science fair project. We were prompted to find a problem faced by people who explore the oceans and then figure out a solution. Students researched, designed, made a prototype, shared their solution with experts in the field, and documented changes that would make the solution more effective.

Our teams created a formal presentation for judges at our competitions. The last way our teams are evaluated is how we integrate the six FIRST core values of teamwork, innovation, inclusion, impact, discovery, and fun, in everything we do.

Our emphasis has always been to work through the engineering process, focus on leadership skills and practice the core values. The goal for our program is to have the students gain skills, apply strong decision-making techniques and practice a critical thinking mindset to carry into all areas of their life. FIRST Lego League values this approach as well, and that is why our teams have always advanced to the state level.

Robo Bears students are split into two teams: red and blue. This year the Red Robo Bears team came in first place overall at the qualifying competition, and then at the state competition, they won first place in robot design. This award came with a bid to the Western Edge Invitational in Long Beach, California, in May.

The Blue Robo Bears team won first place overall out of 811 FIRST Lego League teams in the state of Michigan. This honor came with an invitation to the FIRST World Championship in Houston, Texas in April.

At both competitions, our teams will have the opportunity to showcase our projects and play the robot game with students from every state in the U.S., and from many countries around the world. By the time of this article, the blue team will have competed in Texas and the red team will be leaving for California soon. If you want to follow the journey, go to Facebook and find “Bartlett Robo Bears FIRST Lego League Robotics teams.”

The teams have worked hard during the winter to raise money to cover the high expenses of competing at these world championships. We have held many fundraisers, can drives, contacted business sponsors, and more. If you would like to donate to help the team with competition fees, materials and travel expenses, use the QR code visible in publication.

FIRST Robotics (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a worldwide organization for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. South Lyon has teams at many schools and at all age levels. Most are run by volunteer parents. For questions regarding the Bartlett Robo Bears or how you can help with our fundraising efforts, contact coach Kathy at Lefevrek@slcs.us. You can also learn more about the Bartlett Robo Bears on the SLCS Speaks podcast – episode 48.