The students are (L to R): Juliana Osgood, Mary Drummer, Jared Rice, Nick Summers, and Whitney Canaday. Not pictured are team member Ethan Thill and Tech Coach Joel Thill.
The 8th grade FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team from Miller Middle School placed third in the Project Award category at the State FLL competition Saturday, Jan. 19, at Iowa State University.
This year’s theme was “Senior Solutions”, which required each team to partner with a senior citizen in the community to explore and create innovative solutions to problems they face every day. The 8th grade team, named “The Sparkly Brown Paper Bags”, addressed macular degeneration, including both the physiological changes that occur in the eye and the lifestyle changes that result for senior citizens. The team then designed a prototype of a portable light stick that can be attached to eyeglasses to provide hands-free direct light where needed.
The FLL judges recognized the Miller team for their extensive use of experts in their research. Community members who assisted the team with their project included Dr. Connie Feldman from Eyecare Associates, Mrs. Betty Ulstad—the team’s Senior Partner, and Ms. Shyla Keeley.
FIRST LEGO League is an international program, created by FIRST and LEGO, designed to get students interested in and excited about science, technology and engineering.
