Are you interested in helping your child strengthen their problem solving and creative thinking skills? If so, you’re invited to attend a FIRST LEGO League Jr info session in the Gorge! FIRST LEGO League Jr. introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts to kids ages 6 to 10. Young learners work in teams building models to solve a real-world challenge.

This info session will cover how FLL Jr is run in Oregon, how to facilitate a team meeting, a brief intro to the supplies, and more. The two options are:

• Monday, October 14 from 6pm to 7:30pm at May Street Elementary School in Hood River
• Tuesday, October 15 from 6pm to 7:30pm at Columbia Gorge Community College, Suite 2.221 in The Dalles.

Sign up here to attend one of these free informational events or learn more about FLL Jr at www.ortop.org/flljr/fll-jr-home/.

The annual Gorge-based workshop for new FIRST LEGO League Coaches has been announced for September 21 from 8:30am to 4:30pm at the Hood River County Extension Office, 2990 Experiment Station Dr., Hood River. This is a great workshop for brand-new coaches, parents and mentors or those who have been involved but want to brush up their knowledge. The day provides an introduction to FLL, coaching and mentoring techniques and robot techniques. Pre-registration is required but the event is free. Learn more or register here. 

Twenty hard-working teams of students ages 9 to 14 competed at the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) robotics tournament on December 15 at The Dalles Middle School. Judges and refs were impressed at how much the students learned over the few months they spent designing and programming their robots and completing a research project on space.

We are proud to announce the top award winners from The Dalles:

• Overall 1^st Place Champions: Guardians of the LEGO Galaxy from Hood River Middle School.
• Overall 2^nd Place Champions: Pisces of LEGOs! From Wy’east Middle.
• These additional top teams advanced to the state tournament: Superstitious Macaroni Makers from Trout Lake School; Eaglebots and Space Monkeys from Wy’east Middle School; Super Nova from Wasco County 4-H; and Space Wizards from Colonel Wright Elementary.

Additional top awards were given to a number of teams for their outstanding performances in specific areas of the competition:

• Core Values Award: Apollo from Irrigon Elementary.
• Project Award: Eaglebots from Wy’east Middle.
• Robot Design Award: Superstitious Macaroni Makers from Trout Lake School.
• Robot Performance Award: Space Monkeys from Wy’east Middle.
• Rising Star Award: Space Wizards from Colonel Wright Elementary.

Best of luck in Hillsboro at the January state tournament for all thirteen teams from the Gorge!

Eighteen teams of students ages 9 to 14 competed at the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) robotics tournament last Saturday, December 8 at the Hood River Middle School. Teams from as far as Hermiston and Heppner joined local teams from Hood River, Odell, Klickitat, and Stevenson. Six teams were chosen to advance to the state competition in January. Everyone is invited to watch the fun next weekend at one more tournament on Dec 15 at The Dalles Middle School, with best viewing between 9:30am and 3:30pm. Continue reading →