The excited buzz of youthful voices grew louder and louder in the crisp early morning air of March 13, 2017. Twenty-five teams gathered for the annual SoCal Adventist Robotics League Challenge tournament. Hosted by the Southern California Conference Office of Education, the tournament was held at the Los Angeles Adventist Academy (LAAA) campus. “We were delighted to host the Robotics Tournament for the first time on our campus,” said Lily Nelson, EdD.
Launched in March 2005 by Bob Dennis, EdD, the SoCal Adventist Robotics League has grown exponentially through the years. Dennis, a longtime admirer of spelling bee events and social studies’ mock trials, sought the use of an education vehicle through which the “visibility of learning” can be achieved in a fun and competitive way. Introduced earlier to what is now known as FIRST Lego League (FLL), Dr. Dennis brought to this part of the Pacific Union a program that would give “tomorrow’s innovators a way to practice imaginative thinking and teamwork.” FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international organization designed to motivate K-12 students to embrace science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in a challenging, colorful, and fun way, primarily with the use of Legos. Such uses have resulted in team participants becoming more interested in doing well in school, taking more challenging math and science courses, and developing more interest in going to college. The SoCal league began with nine participating teams, and by 2011, expanded to include schools from Southeastern California Conference (SECC).
The theme for this year’s competition was “Animal Allies.” More than 220 students and coaches were challenged to “think about people and animals as allies in the quest to make life better for everyone.” With the use of Legos, teams built robots and Lego models designed to show and achieve specific interactions between people and animals. Each team was also tasked with identifying what problems may exist with such interactions. Once the problem was selected, they were to design a solution and share the solution with one who owns, sells, or cares for animals. On the day of the tournament, teams presented the results of their efforts to a panel of judges.
From 8:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., judges evaluated team presentations that highlighted three categories: Core Values, Project, and Robot Design. Recognitions were given to those teams scoring highest in demonstrating innovative solutions, teamwork, team spirit, mechanical design, and mechanical integrity. The afternoon was consumed with table competitions, with each team using their robot to score points by maneuvering on the championship robot game tables. The accumulation of these points, added to the panel presentations, resulted in the following overall team co-champions and team recognitions categorically:
Overall Co-Champions –
- Shelter Angels of Loma Linda Adventist Academy
- The Mazings of Loma Linda Adventist Academy
Project Certificate of Recognition –
- Shelter Angels of Loma Linda Adventist Academy
- The Mazings of Loma Linda Adventist Academy
Robot Design Certificate of Recognition –
- Today Has Been Ruff of Loma Linda Adventist Academy
- Road Runner Robotics of Loma Linda Adventist Academy
Core Values Certificate of Recognition –
- Cougars 1 of Conejo Adventist School
- RoboGears of Mesa Grande Adventist Academy
Students were asked what the robotics experience taught them this year. “We learned how to program and we learned the real truth about zoo,” said Briana Oros of Loma Linda Academy. “It taught us how to work in a group and it made me feel like all of our hard work paid off,” her teammate Sami Reynolds said.
Next year’s competition will be hosted by the SECC Office of Education.
