What do you think of when you hear “robotics?”

Self-driving cars? Manufacturing plants?

Students at Meadow Glen Middle think of Legos.

On Jan. 11 the First Lego League (FLL) held the SC State Championship at Meadow Glen.

It is more than a great outlet for students interested in science and math.

7th-grader Jane Zheltov said her favorite part of FLL is how “like a family” her team is. She said she has learned a lot by working with others.

That’s by design.

Working together for the community is a big part of FLL.

Amy Dent, Meadow Glen Middle School’s Digital Learning Coach and one of the school’s FLL Robotics Coaches explained the program has multiple parts.

There are robot engineering and design components, and there’s the robot game.

During these stages, the teams need to explain why they build their robot the way they did and program it to complete tasks on a challenge board.

The other part of FLL focuses on personal and community development.

Through “Core Values” students learn life skills. They’re graded on how well they work together as a team and make decisions.

“City Shaper” is a community problem-solving challenge. The teams from across SC resolved to solve real problems from their communities.

The 4 Meadow Glen teams centered their community projects on Lexington traffic, preventing pedestrian deaths, getting teens involved with service projects, and designing more inclusive programs.

The Gator Gears presented their idea for inclusive programs to Lexington County Council on Jan. 21.

How did the Meadow

Glen teams do?

The Swamp Bots placed 4th and received an invitation to the Carolina International Invitational at Myrtle Beach in May. They also won the Core Values-Teamwork award.

The ROBOGATORS won the Core Values-Inspiration Award.

The Reptile Renegades placed 1st at regionals and will compete in the Razorback International Invitational at the University of Arkansas in May.

If you’d like to sponsor or support the robotics teams, contact Amy Dent at adent@lexington1.net .