By Deb Kroon
Review Staff Writer
February brought the end of a great season for the Nobles County 4-H Robotics team, the Humanoids. With a first place trophy for the research of their project and a seventh place finish in the robot game in South Dakota’s Lego League State Competition, they had a fun and fruitful year. “We compete in South Dakota because Sioux Falls is a lot closer than the Twin Cities,” said Monica Horn, one of the Humanoids’ co-coaches. Mrs Horn, along with Sharilyn Klaassen, met with eight young intellectual minds once a week from the end of August to the state competition in early February.
At their meetings, the kids take turns leading a core value challenge for the rest of the team. They have to complete a task, which can include anything from building a tower to creating puzzles on paper, all done with the intent of building team relationships. The importance of the team working together equally, is one of the areas judged throughout competitions. The judges are more interested in how the team functions as a team and how they relate to other teams, than they are at the success of the challenges they are solving.
In the robotic programming and the robot game, the Humanoids placed seventh, out of 31 teams, this year. “City Shaping” was the theme and both the robotics and core value projects are built around the theme. At the beginning of the year, the group looks at a list of robotic missions and as a team decide which missions they want to have their robot “Bob” complete. They order the legos needed to build their mission tasks, and the mat that is the landscape of the project. Together they figure out how to program “Bob” to complete the mission tasks. The group all has input in how they accomplish their goals. They recognize that each person’s input is important, and that each have different skills than others. The tasks can run from things such as pushing a swing, or moving blocks to a circle on the mat, to more complex tasks such as taking supports out of a building. The group programs “Bob” to complete the tasks using an i-pad and an available app. Once the robot is on the mat, it cannot be touched by any team member. It does not always go as planned, sometimes the robot can mess up, but that is why they practice-to get the “bugs” out before competition. The competition is open to any team member that would like the chance to work with the robot.
The Humanoids also qualified for state competition with their service project. Going with the “City Shaping” theme, the team decided to revamp the city park in Rushmore. They researched the project, looking for environmental friendly materials and the costs, focusing on the accessibility for kids with handicaps. Using their research and the advice from Rick Honermann, they developed a model of the play area at the park. Together they designed the playground using recycled materials as well as new. They also designed a teeter-totter type swing that could hold a wheelchair. The chair is wheeled right into the swing and the swing is constructed so that a person in the chair can maneuver it. They brought home the first place trophy for their research on this project. The judges were impressed with the detail involved in their research. The team is talking about taking their model to the City of Rushmore. They realize that it would need funding to build it, but they are hopeful that their model could become a reality.
The excitement and willingness of working together as a team, makes this group of intellectual young students a real example for all of us. They feel inclusion; no matter your limitations-physically or mentally, who you are or where you live; is the most important part of living with others. Although this group is small, they are hoping to interest others into joining them next year. They have a great team and are definitely proud of what they have and can do together.
This is only one part of what the 4-H program has to offer area youth. If you haven’t checked out the many programs of 4-H, go to 4-H.org and get more information.
