ENGINEERING THE FUTURE
Ballston Spa team gets first place at competition
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » Dozens of school kids gained valuable hands- on experience Saturday that could lead to engineering jobs 10 to 15 years from now in the read-world workforce.
Elementary and middle school students from Ballston Spa, Shenendehowa and Queensbury, plus a Cooperative Extension 4-H team, took part in a Hudson Valley FIRST LEGO League qualifying tournament at Ballston Spa High School.
The topic, Hydro Dynamics, challenged students to build robots that could perform a variety of tasks to improve the way municipal water is found, transported, used and disposed of.
“It’s all about critical thinking with problem solving and developing communication and collaboration skills,” said Diane Irwin, Ballston Spa science coordinator for grades K-12. “Plus, they’re working as a team. They’re learning how to solve a problem together. So it’s giving them the skills they’ll need at a real tech company some day.”
Teams of kids in grades 4- 6 from all four Ballston Spa elementary schools, plus the middle school, took part.
“It helps us by motivating us to push harder,” student Emily Forcioti said.
The first- and second-place overall winners on Saturday were the Ballston Spa B.E. A.S.T.s (4-H) and Mighty Thinkers (Ballston Spa schools), respectively.
They advance to the league semifinals in Latham on Feb. 10. Awinthere would put them in the league championship at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie on Feb. 24.
Winners were named in several other categories. They are:
• Robot Design (Cyborg Unicorns, Ballston Spa schools)
• Project Award (Motors in Action, Ballston Spa schools)
• Core Values (Spartan Flow, Queensbury schools)
• Robot Performance (Mighty Thinkers, Ballston Spa schools)
In addition to the senior division, there was also a junior division for first- to third- graders. Teams from Shenendehowa schools filled all eight slots in this category.
Bill Colby, a software engineer for Vicarious Visions, a video game design company, coaches his sons’ team at Orenda Elementary School in Clifton Park.
“The opportunity to show them I enjoy engineering and what I do is awesome,” he said.
Several Ballston Spa High School robotics team members volunteered as helpers for Saturday’s event.
“At this level they get to see a problem and think abstractly
about how to solve it,” said high school senior Maddie Welch, who’s headed to RIT to pursue engineering.
“It really helps expand their creativity and imagination. It will carry over into their high school years.”
“Seeing them get excited about engineering, it’s kind of empowering because I know we’re having an impact on kids’ lives,” she said.