Kahakai Elementary School’s fifth-grade Lego robotics team earned the Project Presentation Award at the First Lego League State Championship Dec. 5 at Neal S. Blaidsell Center in Honolulu. The team was one of six to represent West Hawaii at the
Kahakai Elementary School’s fifth-grade Lego robotics team earned the Project Presentation Award at the First Lego League State Championship Dec. 5 at Neal S. Blaidsell Center in Honolulu. The team was one of six to represent West Hawaii at the state competition.
The award was the culmination of hard work by Team Kahakai Alii, which won its slot to the championship at the West Hawaii District Tournament Nov. 14. It was one of four Big Island teams to compete at the state competition this year, but the only team to win an award.
Team Kahakai Alii, comprised of five boys and five girls, took four months to build and program robots to complete robot game missions, conduct research on a project based on this year’s “Trash Trek” FLL theme, and learn how to work well together as a team. They were led by three team captains: Aiden Schutte, who managed the robot-related work, Noah Condon, who led the team in core values, and Terina Garcia, who directed the project work. In addition, the students learned how to present their work to three panels of judges.
The students’ winning project, entitled “Plastics in the Ocean,” involved a beach cleanup at Kamilo Beach at South Point, and the conceptual design of a plastic sensor. They learned a lot about plastics in the environment while removing large amounts of trash debris from the beach.
This is the second time since the robotics program began nine years ago that the school brought home a state championship award.
Besides their two First Lego League teams, Kahakai has a successful Junior Lego program for students in the second and third grades.
