In just a few weeks, the halls of Newton North High School will be filled with hundreds of FIRST Lego Leaguers, taking part in the Newton Qualifier, a competition hosted by the LigerBots on November 19. From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 pm more than 30 FLL Teams will compete for the chance to continue to the State Championship. This year, there are two championships, and we have the distinct pleasure of hosting a massive one, for 48 teams, on December 17.

At the November event we are also hosting a mini maker fair where participants will bring something to show or something to do. (iRobot is coming again and we hope that a PacBot will be coming with them. The Newton North Greengineering Club last year offered the chance to power a radio with a bike, and Einstein’s Workshop did a small LED activity).

FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) immerses teams of up to 10 students, ages 9-14 (grades 4-8), in real-world scientific and technological problems. Teams research and design solutions to a scientific question or problem and build autonomous LEGO® robots that compete in performing assigned missions. The theme for 2016 is ANIMAL ALLIES(SM) focusing on the interrelationships between humans and animals. Experience in FIRST® LEGO® League prepares students well for high-school-level robotics with the LigerBots.

The public is invited to view the competition and participate in the mini maker fair. We hope you will come to Newton North on November 19 and check out both.

The LigerBots will host the Newton Qualifier, a regional FLL (FIRST® LEGO® League) competition for grades 4-8, on Sat. Nov. 19, 9:00-3:00, at Newton North High School. There will be a maker fair accompanying the competition, with demos and hands-on activities. Both the competition and the maker fair are open to the public.

The LigerBots’ annual Parents’ Night will be Oct. 26 from 7:30-9:00 at Newton South High School in the Auditorium. Parents and guardians will be able to learn all about what their kids do on the team, and and how the adults can support the LigerBots. After a presentation by team coaches and executives in the auditorium we will move to room 9170 for a tour of our machine shop and meeting rooms, and a demonstration of our 2016 robot. We hope to see all team parents there, especially those of new team members!

On Saturday, the LigerBots kicked off the spirit for FIRST STEAMWORKS by visiting the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation and the studio of Todd Cahill.

The Charles River Museum is on the site of the first mill complex of the Boston Manufacturing Company, which sparked the Industrial Revolution after Francis Cabot Lowell brought back his mill plans from England. The team had the chance to see many of the antiques preserved at the museum, including steam engines, Linotype machines, the first mass-produced cars and watches, and steam-powered machine tools.

Todd Cahill is an artist and engineer who builds beautiful working models of 19th century steam technology and other sculpture from 19th century influences. At his studio, the team was able to learn about his machine tools, some from the 19th century, and some more modern, and see the process of designing and building sculpture from these 19th century influences.

The team hopes to be able to incorporate ideas from this experience into the team image during the upcoming FRC season!

The full album of images can be found on the LigerBots Flickr page.

There will be no meeting on Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 10. The next team meeting is at North at 6:30 on Oct. 13.