The Full Circle Nature School robotics team, the Sparkle Bob Spies, won the Judges Award at the Central Virginia Regional FIRST LEGO® League Tournament Nov. 10. The rookie team was one of 16 teams that competed in the event held at Liberty Middle School in Bedford. The judges award is given to a team that did not place in any of the individual competition areas but were chosen for special recognition by the judges, referees and volunteers at the event for their positive attitude, spirit, determination, enthusiasm and teamwork. According to their coach, Judy Chambliss, “We all signed a pledge at the beginning of the year to have fun and to be a good example of the core values of FIRST LEGO® League, which center around the idea of gracious professionalism. This award shows that we met those goals and I am so very proud of this team.”

For the 2018-19 season, more than 30,000 FIRST LEGO® League teams from around the world explored issues around the theme of Into Orbit. Teams of students in fourth through eighth grade were given the task of identifying and solving a real-world problem focused on long-term space travel. They also had to build, test and program an autonomous robot that could complete tasks related to space travel and living in an outer space environment. The Sparkle Bob Spies team chose to explore the issue of providing a more efficient and streamlined oxygen delivery system to astronauts. The team devised a very rough prototype of a devise that would fit under NASA’s newly designed space suits that would pull the carbon from the CO₂ that an astronaut breathes out, leaving behind pure oxygen for the astronaut to breathe.

The Full Circle Sparkle Bob Spies met several hours a week since the end of August learning to program their LEGO® Mindstorm robot, researching and creating an invention as part of the competition’s problem-solving component and working on their presentations for judges. They and other students at Full Circle will continue to gain experience in programming, with the goal of hosting a robotics showcase in the spring. For more information on the robotics program at Full Circle, the robotics showcase, or becoming a FIRST LEGO® League coach or volunteer, contact Judy Chambliss at jchambliss@fullcirclenatureschool.org.