We caught up with FIRST LEGO League Challenge team Ellesbot #52954 coached by Roboplanets, the BC Provincial Champions for the Cargo Connect season. Here’s what they had to say!

What did you enjoy about being in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge?
We liked how the FIRST Lego League Challenge pushes teams to their limit in teamwork, creativity, and engineering skills. It was really fun moving up to accomplish different rewards, and traveling to other places to compete. We also enjoyed creating our innovation project, which solves a real-world problem.

What did you learn?
In these kinds of competitions, we learned that teamwork is essential, and we need to know how to work with others to resolve conflicts. We used everyone’s different strengths to maximize our team’s power.

What were some challenges that you overcame?
One of the biggest challenges we overcame was completing the missions in time during our robot runs in the world championships. There were many distractions so that the judges could evaluate our Core Values during these difficult times.  We had to practice so much before our runs, work together really well, and calm ourselves down to be able to complete the missions efficiently and in time.

What did you like about getting to the championship / FIRST Canada event?
Especially as a first-year team, we feel really proud of ourselves. We received much encouragement and help from our skilled coaches and mentor. Seeking feedback from experts was also crucial for our innovation project. As an all-girls winning team, we proved to others that girls can also shine in STEAM.

Anything you’d like to say to encourage new teams?
Trust yourself, think out of the box, never give up, and most importantly, have fun!