EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Five fifth-grade girls from East Grand Rapids have turned LEGOs into a state championship in a robotics competition and a chance to compete on the World Championship.
The "Raiders of the Mummified 5," an all-girls team from Lakeside Elementary participating in the FIRST Robotics LEGO League supported by the EGR Schools Foundation, defeated more than 900 other teams to claim the state championship this season.
"It kinda felt like the world was stopping for a second," one team member said. "That was a really cool experience. It's one of my most accomplishments in my life."
Competition Involves More Than Robotics
The competition combines robotics with an innovation project requiring students to solve real-world problems.
"Lego League is an international competition that's robotics mixed with actually an innovation project, which is the kids giving a five minute presentation to judges, practicing their presentation skills and solving a real world issue," said Michael Vizachero, a father and head coach for the team.
This year's states theme focused on archaeology. The girls interviewed archaeologists and experts in the field to design a real-world solution, ultimately creating a tent idea they presented to judges during competitions.
The team learns engineering and programming skills by designing and coding robots to complete various missions on a competition board. A team member described the programming aspect: "It's hard to learn it, but then once you do know it, it's like a different language."
Advanced Skills for Fifth Graders
The coaches emphasized the advanced nature of what the girls are learning. "They're doing stuff that I learned in college. So they're programming robots, they're learning engineering principles, they're learning how to work together as a team," Vizachero said.
Dan Williams, a father and coach, said the students' abilities have exceeded his own. "The kids technical ability outpaced mine. They got better building LEGOS than I am. They got better at programming in Python than I am, even as an engineer."
The team worked for four months straight, meeting two to three times a week for several hours each session.
Foundation Support Enables Success
The East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation started the LEGO League program and provides crucial support, including LEGO sets and robots required for competition, as well as practice facilities. The team was able to practice at Coach Michael's house basement to spend extra hours preparing.
However, the program faces capacity limitations due to volunteer constraints. Dan Williams noted that "not every kid that signed up for Lego League this year got a chance to join Lego League because there weren't enough parent volunteers" to serve as coaches.
Williams strongly encouraged more parents to step up as coaches: "So if you're willing to support your kids, please, please be a coach. It'll help more kids get the opportunity to take advantage of this wonderful program."
He emphasized that parents don't need technical expertise to coach. "If you're the type of parent that can push kids, encourage them, support their ideas. Just support your children, or support other children. You make great Lego League coach," he said.
Teamwork at the Core
The girls emphasized the importance of collaboration throughout their journey. "What's really important is that we're all a team," one member said.
Another team member noted they've "definitely learned about like teamwork, because we all have, like, pretty different personalities, and sometimes that can be challenging, like working together, but we've all like, succeeded in that."
Their state championship victory has earned them a spot at the world championship competition in Houston, Texas in April, making them the first LEGO team from Grand Rapids to advance to that level. The competition will feature over 1,000 teams from many different countries.
"It was a little bit nerve wracking knowing that we're going up against, like, like, 1000 different teams," one team member said. "We're most excited about spending more time together, meeting new teams."
Preparing for Worlds
As they prepare for the world championship, the girls are focusing both on technical improvements and the experience itself. They plan to improve their robot's scoring capability and create a more impressive presentation setup, potentially building a life-size model of their tent innovation.
"They're going to crank up the fun level, like a big part of Lego League does include fun," Williams said. "I think they're already planning about three or four different outfits they're going to wear."
The team is also planning fundraising efforts in the local community to help fund their trip to Houston, including potential can drives, bake sales, and other community initiatives.
Encouraging Other Girls
Vizachero said the real victory extends beyond trophies. "It's just really exciting to see them grow, see them mature, and see them learn all these cool skills, that you know are going to help them be successful when they end up getting jobs and careers."
The girls hope their success will encourage others to join robotics programs. "We want you to know that we're girls, we can do this, and we know that together as a team, you can do anything," one team member said.
The team will compete at the world championship in April.
Team members include: Kara Huff, Abby Vizachero, Fleur Williams, Elsa Deming, and Remi Fulton.
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