Last Saturday, the first ever team of middle school students from the MCC STEP program participated in the Nazareth Hall Qualifying Tournament of the Fingerlakes FIRST Lego League.
Participation in FIRST Lego League is student-centered. The students chose their team name (STEP Up!), designed their own T-shirts, built and programmed their robot, researched their project, and designed a presentation. This year's challenge, the "Power Puzzle," involved performing an energy audit. Team STEP Up! did their project on the Pre-Collegiate Learning Lab at DCC. The team assessed the amount of energy currently used in the space and thought about methods that could be employed to decrease this use. Solutions included bringing in energy efficient light bulbs, harnassing solar and wind power from the building's roof, and moving temperature control to inside of the room. STEP Up! also designed, built, and programmed a Lego robot to accomplish several tasks designed around an energy theme.
For a first year effort, the experience of STEP Up! was awesome. The students decided that success would be accomplishing one mission with their robot and doing the best that they could with the research and presentation. STEP Up! went above and beyond their goal. They learned a great deal from the experience and are already getting started thinking about strategies for next year.
We can be very proud of these young representatives of MCC.
The Science & Technology Entry Program is a NY State Education Department funded program that aims to encourage and suppport students from underrepresented gorups to pursue college and careers in STEM fields and the NY state licensed professions. For more information on STEP, contact Donna Augustine at <mailto:daugustine@monroecc.edu>.
Donna Augustine
Science & Technology Entry Program - Education
11/20/2007
Attachments:
 IMG_0128.JPG
|