LEGO Robotics Competition

Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, Inc. is leading the effort to coordinate an exciting event this fall: The first-ever New Mexico Qualifying Competition of the FIRST LEGO League.

Please consider serving in one of the Planning Committee roles listed below. Your contribution will be key in making this event a success and allowing New Mexico students to participate in robotics.

This New Mexico Qualifying Competition will be the first opportunity for students to participate in FIRST LEGO League at the local level. All registered FLL Teams from across New Mexico will be eligible to participate in the New Mexico Qualifying Competition. The top 16 teams from the New Mexico Qualifying Competition will have the opportunity to compete in the regional competition in Amarillo, Texas.

In order to make this event a success, at least eight volunteers are needed to serve in major roles on the Planning Committee:

Event Coordinator
Judge Coordinator
Technical Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
Fundraising Coordinator
Teams and Materials Coordinator
Site Coordinator
Referee Coordinator
Please click here for more information on the responsibilities of each position.

  • Serving on the Planning Committee will be a regular time commitment of weekly meetings, plus tasks to complete outside of the meeting times.
  • The meetings will begin now and last through November.
  • Planning Committee meetings will take place in Albuquerque on Wednesday afternoons.
  • Committee Members from across the state are desired. You'll be able to call in and participate in meetings via conference call and communicate via e-mail.
  • All committee members will be asked to attend the competition on Saturday, November 8, at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.

If you are not able to make the commitment to serve on the Planning Committee, please consider serving in a shorter-term volunteer role. People will be needed to help distribute information as the event gets closer, to set up on the day before, and to do many jobs on the day of the competition.

To get more information, to volunteer to serve on the Planning Committee, or to indicate interest in a short-term volunteer role, please contact Kathy Morgan or Chris Morgan (contact information below).

Plans for this event need to get rolling soon! Please pass on this request to anyone who might be interested in volunteering. If you're interested in serving on the Planning Committee, please let Kathy or Chris know no later than Monday, July 21, and if possible plan to attend the next planning meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at 5:00 p.m.

From the FIRST LEGO League website, www.firstlegoleague.org:

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international program for children ages 9-14 (9-16 outside of the U.S. and Canada). It combines a hands-on, interactive robotics program and a research presentation with a sports-like atmosphere. Teams consist of up to 10 members and focus on such things as team building, problem solving, creativity, and analytical thinking.
 
Each September we provide FLL teams around the world with an annual Challenge. The Challenge is based on a set of real-world problems facing scientists today. It has two parts: a robot game and a project.
 
In the robot game teams design, build, program, and test autonomous robots that must perform a series of tasks, or missions. In the project, teams conduct research and create a technological or engineering solution to an aspect of the Challenge and present that solution.

Kathy Morgan
Teen Program/Outreach Coordinator
Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, Inc.
4000 Jefferson Plaza NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
kmorgan@gs-nmtrails.org
505-343-1040
800-658-6768

Chris Morgan
FLL New Mexico Qualifying Competition Planning Committee member
Sandia National Laboratories
Org. 9317, Cyber Monitoring & Policies
Albuquerque, NM 87185-0813
(505) 845-8611
cmorgan@sandia.gov