On November 18 the LigerBots hosted the Newton Qualifier FIRST LEGO League (FLL) tournament, which brought 24 teams of students in grades 4-8 to Newton North High School to compete using LEGO robots they designed, built and programmed to perform 18 separate missions. The event was free and open to the public.

Also on display were student solutions to real world problems related to the water based theme for this year’s FLL game, which is called “Hydro Dynamics.”

Alongside the competition there was a maker fair with many hands-on activities for kids in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). Among the exhibitors were Orimagi.io, the Massachusetts National Guard, Empow Studios, the Newton Free Library, the New England Section of the Optical Society of America, the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation with the New England Model Engineering Society and Einstein’s Workshop. This year’s event also featured “RoboPalooza,” a hands-on robot exhibit that included the Nutrons, a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team from Boston, and three FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams from the Needham High School Robotics Club.

The LigerBots’ two previous years of experience running the Newton Qualifier paid off, as the entire team came out to staff the event as judges, referees, guides, queuers, food handlers and DJs.  We were able to set up and bring Newton North back to its original, sparkling state in record time.  We hope our guests had as wonderful a time as we did!

The FLL Eastern MA State Championship will also be hosted by the LigerBots at Newton North High School, on December 16 from 9-3. Like the Newton Qualifier, it will be free and open to the public, with even more teams competing and more hands-on exhibits in the accompanying maker fair.