Singing Hills Elementary School sent three teams to the FIRST Lego League Explore Festival at the Charles Hay World School in Englewood on April 15.

Explore introduces students ages 6-10 to the FIRST Lego League’s STEM exploration competitions. This year's challenge was to use Lego kits to show what it would be like to design a wind turbine that could power carnival rides.

Singing Hills’ three teams, the Robot Masters, the Lego Lords, and the Sushi Eating Minions, all coached by teachers Susan McMullen and Ashlee Johnson, earned awards based on their presentations, enthusiasm and ability to work together at the festival. They also got the chance to see what older FIRST participants do with bigger and more complex robots.

One team’s Core Values Award feedback form said, “The Robot Masters came ready to demonstrate the Core Values of the Challenge. Discovery, Impact, Teamwork, Inclusion, Innovation and, not least, Fun(!) was obvious from each member. The team gave each other time and room to talk about the models and solutions to problems. It was a joy to hear each team member talk about their experience. Congratulations to all!”

The following week, the teams gathered in Mrs. McMullen's room to disassemble and put away all the Lego kits (and have one last bit of fun with them too).

Thanks to Mrs. McMullen and Mrs. Johnson for sharing photos!