Meet The SnapDragons

In June, the SnapDragons will represent Iowa in the Western Edge FIRST LEGO League Open in Long Beach, CA. Ahead of their trip, we asked them a few questions about their season this year.

Q: How did your team come up with its name and logo? 

A: The kids noticed that one of the sponsors was Qualcomm and wanted to name the team after the Snapdragon processors (the adults did not know what they were talking about). 

Q: What was the most exciting part of being on your FIRST LEGO League team? 

A: Our team said that the most exciting parts were the competitions! There is always so much energy there from all the other teams and volunteers. 

Q: What was the funniest mishap that happened during a practice session?  

A: Occasionally the gyro sensor would malfunction and the robot would start spinning in endless circles. This mishap was pretty funny the first time it happened, but got progressively less funny the closer we were to the competition, haha! 

Q: Can your team share a memorable moment from a competition?  

A: During qualifiers, the robot malfunctioned and ran into a mission model the team hadn’t intended to attempt, but the accident bumped it into the correct place, and they got the extra ten points! It was so random and serendipitous; everyone couldn’t stop talking about it. 

 A: Another memorable moment came when the team presented their innovation project on hearing protection, and the judges explained their own personal connection to the topic. The kids loved that they were able to connect their learning with someone directly impacted. 

Q: What was the craziest idea your team came up with during brainstorming sessions? 

A: Using the EV3 missile launcher to solve a mission! They decided it was too unreliable.  

Q: Did you face any challenges this season? If so, how did you overcome them? 

A: We had a small team this year– just four kids! It meant that each team member really had to pull their weight and be conversant on all aspects of the projects. The team spent a lot of time talking through their projects to make sure everyone had a thorough grasp on all the different angles. 

Q: What was the most valuable lesson your team learned from your LEGO League experience? 

A: We learned how to plan and execute a complicated task as a team. The LEGO League presentations and robot games are so complex that planning and internal deadlines were essential. We learned that giving ourselves enough time also allows for ideas to percolate and better brainstorming! There is a magic that happens when you give an entire team time to think of solutions– they came up with many unexpected ideas and were always surprising us!

A: The team’s presentation skills also dramatically improved. We learned that presenting is just like any other skill– it improves with practice! 

Q: Which mission did your team find the most interesting and why? 

A: Our team loved the light show the most because it required the most interesting solution. The team created a rotating tower with vertical arms to turn the tower and raise the pointer. Even after watching it dozens of times, the kids still cheered every time the pointer hit the blue section because it was so fun to watch! 

Q: Which mission did your team find the most challenging, and how did you tackle it? 

A: The light show was also the most challenging mission because it required a huge degree of precision and a few different iterations of the attachment design. But this also made it more fun! 

Q: What is your team most looking forward to at your upcoming competition? 

A: They are looking forward to meeting other kids from all over the country and from other countries!

This is Part III of a series on the teams that will represent Iowa in post-season FIRST LEGO League Events around the world.