Four Teams Advancing to State Tournament

Seventeen teams competed in the Northern Regional Minnesota FIRST Lego League Tournament on Saturday in Northome. Advancing to the state tournament on January 30th are:
Division II (for grades 7-9, some teams have younger members)
Women of Wonder (all girls team sponsored by Eagleview and based at Northome School, also Innovative Design and Design award winner)
Flash Drive (Community Ed. team based at RJE Middle School in Grand Rapids, also Programming award winner)

Division I (for grades 4-6)
Cohasset Cougars (Cohasset Elementary's team, also Teamwork award winner)
Clearbook/Gonvick Cruisers (Clearbrook/Gonvick after-school program team)

More info on all the teams that participated, and pictures, to follow.

Robotics Meeting for Cohasset/Grand Rapids Parents/Coaches

Cohasset Elementary and RJE Middle School will be hosting new teams this season. All interested parents, and potential coaches, are invited to attend an organizational meeting at the ISD 318 Admin building in Grand Rapids on Oct. 20th at 6:30. Room TBA.

For more info contact Toni at 218.659.4271

Coach/Mentor Training Follow-Up

The big question at today's training was about the "blue bins" otherwise known as the "education resource kit." If you buy a robot kit through FIRST you get the base set (white bin) and the blue bin. For those who do not have the blue bin, and want one, they can be ordered directly from Lego Education here. (Product ID: W979648, price $79.95) 9648 has more of most of the parts in the base kit (9797) and a few pieces not in the base kit (like those wicked good looking, but useless, curvy claws).

It was great seeing everyone today, can't wait to see your teams!
Toni
you can reach me via e-mail: roboticsnorth at yahoo dot com

FIRST Lego League Coach/Mentor Training

The Eagleview Community Foundation is hosting coach and mentor training for adults working with new and returning teams on Saturday, October 3rd from 10:00AM-3:00PM at Eagleview (on State Hwy. 46 in Squaw Lake, 27 miles north of Deer River).

The training is free but call Toni at 218.659.4271 or e-mail roboticsnorth@yahoo.com to RSVP and find out what to bring.

If you are interested in forming a new team contact Toni ASAP. The registration deadline is Sept. 30!!!

The Challenge

Visit the FIRST site for this year's mission set up, challenge, and research project details. With transportation as a theme this year's research problem presents many opportunities to create and present truly practical solutions. Don't forget, consulting experts, and presenting to community groups before the tournament will pay off!

Meeting Reminder

The Eagleview Community Foundation and MN Extension 4-H are hosting an organizational meeting of the Collaborative on Tuesday, Sep. 15 from 4:00-6:00 PM at the Regional Extension Office on the ICC campus in Grand Rapids. Have a voice in setting the tournament and training schedules and the agenda for the next semi-annual meeting.

It's not too late for your organization to form a team, or sponsor an existing team. Contact Toni at roboticsnorth @ yahoo.com for more info or to RSVP for the meeting.

High Tech Kids Web Site Redesign

Keep track of how many Minnesota teams have registered (99 so far) and a lot of great info to get your team ready to go for a great FIRST Lego League season at www.hightechkids.org. Follow the link for team registration and enjoy the new, and much simpler, web forms.

Already registered from the Collaborative-
Eagleview Girls
Northome/Eagleview 4-H

If you've registered and aren't listed here let us know in the comments!

Robotics Season is Upon Us

RUN (Robotics Up North) for Achievement camper, Lyman S. of Deer River Secondary School works on a program.

It seems like yesterday that Jan Derdowski, regional 4-H educator, and I were in Atlanta for the FIRST World Festival. There's nothing quite like seeing kids from 4th-12th grade competing at Olympic Centennial Park. It would be even better if some of them were our kids from northern Minnesota.

The off season is over and it's time to register teams for the FIRST Lego League season. Go to http://www.hightechkids.org/ for all you need to know about registering a team. You can e-mail Toni at roboticsnorth@yahoo.com for more info about what coaching or mentoring a team is really like. Or call her at the Eagleview Community Technology Center 218.659.4254.

Coming up soon is the Northland Robotics Collaborative meeting on September 15 from 4:00-5:30 at the Minnesota Extension Regional office at ICC in Grand Rapids. RSVP to Toni if you'd like to attend. This is our kick-off meeting for what will be a semi-annual confab to map out the calendar, training/competition locations and various out-of-school time STEM activities. If you, or your organization, did not receive an invitation drop a line so we don't leave you out again.

Toni Wilcox
FIRST Lego League Tournament Director
Northern Minnesota Regional

FIRST Lego League Registration Opens May 4!

Here's a message from FIRST Lego League about the '09-'10 season.

"Smart Move" Challenge!
REGISTRATION OPENS ON MAY 4TH at 12 noon Eastern Time. In order to
register for the 2009 Season, you must create a user account first. Read
important information about our new -- and hopefully improved! --
registration system here.
Although registration does not open until Monday, you can begin creating
your user account RIGHT NOW at go fll! The forums for
the Smart Move season open on Monday as well, which is the earliest
we've ever been able to offer them.

The 2009 "Smart Move" Challenge will officially kick-off online on
Thursday, September 3rd. To make FLL a year-round experience, many Teams
will begin to research and explore the upcoming topic throughout the
summer. Some Teams take field trips, talk to friends and family members,
and even start to contact some experts in the field. Teams are also
welcome to utilize the FLL off-season activities posted at US FIRST.org


We look forward to having you join us for our most exciting season yet!

And don't forget --

The Coaches' Handbook you'll receive in your registration packet
includes a sneak preview of the Robot Game mat for the 2009 "Smart Move"
Challenge. The sooner you register, the sooner you'll get to see it!

With High 5's and Admiration,
FIRST LEGO League Headquarters
Manchester, New Hampshire - USA

Summer Camp Registration Open

The Eagleview Community Foundation and 4-H are happy to announce plans are finalized for a summer overnight camp "Robotics Up North." This 4 day, 3 night camp, will be conducted at Eagleview (in Squaw Lake) and on Island Lake near Northome. Cost is $240, scholarships and multiple camper discounts available. E-mail Toni at roboticsnorth@yahoo.com for registration forms or a flyer to download for your organization.

Summer Camp Plans

Mark your calendars now for the Robotics Up North (RUN) for Achievement Camp, July 21-24.

Feel free to copy and paste the following into your organization's newsletters. More info (like cost!) to follow. We are waiting to hear about some grant applications before publishing a cost in hopes we can substantially reduce the price for participants.

Robotics Up North (RUN) for Achievement Camp
Join youth from all over the state of Minnesota at an action-packed 4 day, 3 night, technology camp. We'll combine robotics, digital phhotography, and GPS activties with all the traditional fun of summer overnight camp at the lake. July 21-24. Northome, MN. Grades 5-9 (School year 09-10). Offered by: 4-H, Eagleview Community Foundation. For more information contact roboticsnorth@yahoo.com or call Toni Wilcox at 218.659.4271.

Check out FRC!

Design Judge Dan Rushton is taking the Hibbing High School FRC team (#2499) to the Northstar Regional at the U of M, April 4-5. The team welcomes fans and friends to come cheer them on.

FRC is the top competition level for FIRST Robotics. While teams make their robots from identical kits, this is way beyond Legos! The FIRST web site suggests the first steps to starting an FRC team should be contacting an existing team, and seeing a regional tournament. The Northstar Regional is your chance to cheer on a Northern MN team, and get to know the FRC ropes.


Here's a video from last year's competition in Boston, with a few words from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak

Northland Collaborative Going to the World Festival

Jan Derdowski, regional 4-H educator, and Toni Wilcox, Eagleview's Executive Director, will be traveling to the FIRST Lego League World Festival in Atlanta to give a presentation on April 116th. Their presentation, "Robots in the Middle of Nowhere," is still under construction. If you'd like to share some of your challenges, successes, lessons learned, or plans for the future, please contact Toni (roboticsnorth@yahoo.com).
Read more about the festival here.

State Legislative News

A bill to fund after school community learning grants and a statewide transportation study to engage children and youth in after school and summer learning programs has been introduced in the Minnesota House and Senate.
Click here for the House version
Here for the Senate version.

Both versions of the $10M appropriation include up to $250,000 for a transportation study to investigate barriers to children and youth participating in out of school learning activities.

Welcome

Welcome to the Northland Robotics Collaborative, serving rural Northern Minnesota. To join the collaborative, or for more information, e-mail roboticsnorth at yahoo.com (to combat spam use at instead of @ in your comments if you want a personal reply).