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Robotics Team Qualifies at Ballston Spa Tournament

Written by Lori Mahan on . Posted in Education.

BALLSTON SPA — Ballston Spa High School’s FIRST Robotics Team #3044 and FIRST Tech Challenge Team #6945 recently hosted a Hudson Valley FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Qualifying Tournament. Eight FLL teams participated in the tournament. The first-place winner was the BroBots team from Christian Brothers Academy in Albany. They will be moving on to the Hudson Valley FLL Championship Tournament on February 8, 2020 at Dutchess Community College. Other teams that received awards at the tournament include: • Robot Design Award & Robot Performance Award (BSpa Beasts from Saratoga County 4-H) • Project Award (Motors in Action, Wood Road Elementary) • Core Values (Bionic Builders, Ballston Spa Middle School) This year’s FLL challenge, City Shaper, required students to design a LEGO robot that was programmed to operate independently on the competition table and accomplish several design and construction related tasks. The teams were judged based on the robot’s performance, design, core values and on a project. The theme of this year’s project asked students to think like architects, engineers and construction workers to identify a problem with a building or public space in their community and design a solution to the problem. The tournament was sponsored by Hudson Valley FLL, Dutchess Community College and their Foundation, IBM, and NY Tech Valley FIRST. FIRST programs are growing in New York Tech Valley as a result of the overwhelming support of our industry sponsors to engage more students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and develop the needed workforce to support their businesses. Sponsors for New York Tech Valley include GLOBALFOUNDRIES, GE, ASML, National Grid, KLATencor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lam Research, Applied Materials, AMD, Turner Construction, SCREEN USA, nfrastructure, Edwards, Regeneron, Pickett Family Foundation, Acumetra, Tokyo Electron and Westerwood Global. Additional information is available by contacting Ballston Spa K-12 Science Coordinator Diane Irwin, dirwin@bscsd.org, or at the High School by calling 518-884-7150.

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