Students at Mililani Mauka Elementary have proven they know a thing or two about robotics.<\/p>\n
The fourth-grade Robotechs won the Project Award at the Nov. 3 Holomua District Tournament and went on to the State Robotics Championship Dec. 1 at Blaisdell Center, where they placed first for the Presentation Award and received a trophy made out of LEGOs.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n
Also, the fifth-grade Maukabots were named District Champion at the Mililani District Tournament Nov. 3 and earned an automatic invitation to the Dec. 1 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) State Championship.<\/p>\n
These accomplishments have Robotechs’ coaches Dave Morishige and Cynthia Takemoto and Maukabots’ coaches Lori Jakahi, Scott Miyagi and Krissy Barrett-Grahovac pleased with the students’ efforts.<\/p>\n
“It’s exciting to watch young students be so excited about math and science,”<\/p>\n
Miyagi said. “What I want most for our students to take away from being a part of robotics are the additional skill sets beyond math and science that they acquired.<\/p>\n
“While many aspects of robotics are technical in nature, these students learned how to function successfully as a team and build collaborative leadership skills. In the end, I hope they see that by working together, their little ideas can make a big impact on innovation and society.”<\/p>\n
The purpose of FLL is to stimulate students (ages 9-14) to think through problem-based research and a robotics competition, while creating a passion for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).<\/p>\n
Takemoto explained that there are three aspects to the FLL competition: Project Presentation, Robot Game and Core Values.<\/p>\n
The Project Presentation focuses on the theme, and students create a presentation that shares the research and innovative solution.<\/p>\n
The Robot Game is where students build and design robots, then learn to program the robots to solve missions.<\/p>\n
The Core Values focuses on teamwork.<\/p>\n
According to Jakahi, this year’s FLL theme was Senior Solutions. “Students explored the topic of aging and how it affects a person’s ability to maintain his or her lifestyle. They then focused on a real-life issue for seniors, and came up with an innovative solution to the problem,” she said.<\/p>\n
Each student gave insight as to how robotics will help them as they get older:<\/p>\n
Kylie Takamoto, Maukabots: “Robotics will help me in the future because I can now work better with others.”<\/p>\n
Justin Jakahi, Maukabots: “I think robotics will help me when I am older because I can solve problems and find the answers on my own.”<\/p>\n
Taryn Kaneko, Maukabots: “Robotics will help me in life because it taught me teamwork. When I play on the soccer field, I know how to communicate and be a better team player.”<\/p>\n
Alexander Armenti, Maukabots: “Robotics helps to prepare me for the future by using technology and teamwork skills.”<\/p>\n
Taylor DeCastro, Maukabots. “I know how to work with others, and I can program the Mindstorm robots.”<\/p>\n
Tyson DeCastro, Maukabots: “Robotics helps me to learn math, and I was introduced to new technology that will help me get a better job.”<\/p>\n
Shadrack Nabea Jr., Maukabots: “It will help me because the skills I learned can be put to good use. I learned how to work in a team and to communicate, and it is important because I may have a job where I have to be a team member.”<\/p>\n
Evan Araki, Maukabots: “I think it will help me because now I know that I can have fun doing what I like and not give up when things get difficult.”<\/p>\n
Taylor Oyama, Maukabots: “It helped me with my teamwork skills. In the future, I plan on playing on a volleyball team and my teamwork skills that I learned through this FLL season will help me to communicate and work with my teammates well.”<\/p>\n
Casey Morishige, Robotechs: “It will help me because I know how to work well with people.”<\/p>\n
Baylie Rodrigues, Robotechs: “It will help me so I know how to work with other people, and I can use what I learned in the classroom.”<\/p>\n
Kara Eto, Robotechs: “I now listen to ideas from others and not just go with my idea, because we might be able to combine ideas to create a solution.”<\/p>\n
Cade Tanaka, Robotechs: “In the future, I can work together better with other people.”<\/p>\n
Paige Ho, Robotechs: “In the future, I can know how to work with other people without doing mean things.”<\/p>\n
Michael Taylor, Robotechs: “Robotics will help me to work well with others.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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