By Brooke Tidwell, Media Relations Specialist
Chickasaw Nation Media Relations Office
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby is pictured with Blockhead team members after receiving the Judges Award at the FIRST LEGO League state qualifying tournament in Stillwater.
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby is pictured with the Mechanical Masterminds after they received the Judges Award at the FIRST LEGO League state qualifying tournament in Stillwater.
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby and Patricia Jolly are pictured with Mini Mayhem team members after receiving the Most Organized Award during the Junior FIRST LEGO League display board competition in Stillwater.
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby and team mentors are pictured with the Tiny Techs after they received the Most Knowledgeable Team Award during the Junior FIRST LEGO League display board competition in Stillwater.
Chickasaw Nation LEGO League teams are headed to Amarillo after qualifying for the FIRST LEGO League regional tournament at the state qualifying competition.
Two Chickasaw Nation For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) LEGO League teams qualified for the Amarillo Regional tournament during the Climate Connections Challenge state qualifying tournament November 15 at the Wes Watkins Center in Stillwater, Okla.
Seventeen FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams across Oklahoma gathered to display problem-solving and creative thinking skills as well as teamwork and sportsmanship abilities during the Oklahoma qualifying tournament. Of the 17 teams, 16 teams, including two Chickasaw Nation teams, Blockheads and Mechanical Masterminds, qualified for the Amarillo, Texas, Regional tournament December 6.
"FIRST is a great program designed to motivate students to be involved in science and technology activities," said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. "To see these students get excited about such an inspiring program shows promise for future science and technology leaders."
The Chickasaw Nation FLL program provides Ada area Chickasaw students ages 9 through 14 an opportunity to discover the world of science and technology. Using LEGO parts, computer programming, problem-solving and engineering skills, FLL teams designed a robot and prepared presentations in eight weeks prior to tournament play.
During competitions, FLL teams use computer programming to maneuver robots through obstacle courses within a 2 minute and 30 second timeframe. The robots are programmed to complete objectives within the course and gain as many points as possible. The teams that gain the most points during the competition rounds advance to the playoffs to reveal the tournament champions.
"The Chickasaw Nation LEGO League teams displayed tremendous excitement and knowledge of their climate topics and LEGO robots and creations during the qualifying tournament," said Chickasaw Nation Education Services director Lori Hamilton. "Over the past few months, all of the students were very dedicated to their projects and bonded very well as individual teams."
The FLL competition is judged in project presentation, robot performance, technical design and programming of the robot and teamwork. During closing ceremonies, both Chickasaw Nation FLL teams were presented the Judges Award. The Judges Awards were awarded to the teams that worked hard and displayed creativity during project presentations.
Blockhead team members include: Brendan Anoatubby and Jordan Stick-Greenwood of Homer Elementary; Patrick Cooke and Mikayla Hook of Willard Elementary; Jason Folsom, Bailee McCurdy and Savannah Weems of Latta Elementary; Joshua Tingle of Sulphur Junior High; Julie Underwood of Mill Creek Junior High and Thirkiel Wedlow of Allen Elementary.
Mechanical Mastermind team members include: Lauren Burden, Brooke Colungo and Krysten Wallace of Washington Elementary; Chase Horton, Macy Tiger, Autumn Underwood and Taylor Weems of Latta Elementary and Chelsea Wedlow of Allen Elementary.
"These leagues were created to inspire the children to have fun while furthering their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math," said Ms. Hamilton. "The development of the LEGO teams has proven that creative and hands-on programs keep the attention of children and engage them in learning."
As part of the FLL tournament, Junior LEGO League (JLL) teams had the opportunity to compete by designing Climate Connections display boards. Two Chickasaw Nation JLL teams, Tiny Techs and Mini Mayhem, designed display boards in the areas of pollution and water recycling. Chickasaw Nation JLL teams are comprised of Ada area six to nine year old Chickasaw students.
The Tiny Techs were awarded the Most Knowledgeable JLL team and Mini Mayhem was awarded the Most Organized. Winning the Most Inspired Mentor was Patricia Jolly, Chickasaw Nation science, technology and math coordinator.
Tiny Techs team members include: Elijah Gibson and Andrea Underwood of Homer Elementary; Reese Hamilton, Lauren John and Jacob Wallace of Hayes Elementary and Amon Walker of Latta Elementary.
Mini Mayhem team members include: Sean Cooke of Homer Elementary; Randis Gray and Lulu Weems of Latta Elementary; Sunzie Harrison of Allen Elementary; Heath Hook of Hayes Elementary and Matthew McAngus of Pauls Valley Jackson Elementary.
The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs. Through FIRST, students gain engineering and technology skills, inspire innovation and develop self-confidence, communication and leadership skills.
For more information about the Chickasaw Nation FLL program, contact the science, technology and math program manager Stan Townsend at (580) 421-7711.
