Violet Bellerose officiates a match as a referee at the Maine FIRST LEGO League State Championship on Feb. 1 at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. Submitted photo

FARMINGTON — Mt. Blue High School hosted the Maine FIRST LEGO League State Championship on Feb. 1, welcoming more than 30 teams from across the state for a day of robotics competition, teamwork, and innovation. The event, organized by Blue Crew Robotics Team 6153, was sponsored by the Robotics Institute of Maine in partnership with the Foster Career and Technical Education Center and the Mt. Blue High School Robotics Team.

FIRST LEGO League is a robotics competition designed for middle school students, where teams build and program LEGO robots to complete as many tasks as possible within a two-minute and 30-second timeframe. This year’s competition, themed “SUBMERGED,” encouraged students to explore challenges related to ocean conservation while applying critical thinking and innovation. More information about FIRST LEGO League can be found at www.firstlegoleague.org.

Blue Crew Robotics, now in its 10th year competing with FIRST, consists of nearly 20 students from Mt. Blue and Spruce Mountain high schools and is based out of the Foster Tech Center. The team is dedicated to spreading STEM education and FIRST’s core values throughout the community, inspiring the next generation of problem solvers. Volunteers, including professionals from the business community and educators from various fields serve as mentors to guide students through the competition.

This year, Blue Crew played a key role in revitalizing the Mt. Blue Middle School LEGO League program, and the Cougar Crew’s performance at the championship showcased the impact of that mentorship. The team did well in its first year of competition, placing 10th overall in game score and earning third place in Robot Design. Mentoring the middle school team has been a rewarding experience for Blue Crew members.

Richard Wilde demonstrates R2Blue2 to the Lego League team Caribou Icebergs at the Maine FIRST LEGO League State Championship on Feb. 1 at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. Submitted photo

“Restarting the Mt. Blue Middle School Lego League team has had a really positive impact on the team members who have been able to work directly with the middle school students,” said team captain Noah Civiello. “This program has taught the kids so much about the FIRST core values, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, which are all very important for success not only in this program but for the future if they choose to be part of the Blue Crew robotics team in high school. Mentoring the team has also taught me a thing or two about how to guide others to solutions to problems without doing it myself. It is gratifying to see the students problem-solve and succeed through teamwork.”

Lucy Knowles, a member of Blue Crew Robotics, reflected on the success of the event and the performance of the Cougar Crew.

“I believe the day was a huge success, and I had a great time. It was amazing to see all of the students working together, staying focused, and having fun. Although this was the first year for our Mount Blue Middle School team, the Cougar Crew, they did a fantastic job, getting the 10th highest game score and winning third in Robot Design. I cannot wait to see how the teams do next year, and I hope the Blue Crew gets to host this event again in the near future,” said Knowles.

Organizing an event of this size required a significant effort from Blue Crew members, families, and volunteers.

“Organizing an event of this size has definitely taken a lot of hard work from all of our team members,” said team mom Jennifer Civiello. “We spent the later part of the fall working with the planning committee and the school to make sure we had the space we needed to host the event. We also worked with Mt. Blue TV to be able to film and stream the event. The team spent countless hours assembling enough LEGO kits to have 10 tables available for the competition. Closer to the event, we were fortunate to have supportive families and community members who donated almost all of the food we needed to serve everyone at the event. Beyond that, they also showed up to volunteer for concessions as well as to be ambassadors to our building, keeping the day running smoothly.”

This allowed student members of Blue Crew to fully engage in volunteering roles during the event. Some served as judges, referees, and event organizers, while others led STEAM challenges to keep participants engaged during their downtime. The team also introduced students to their high school competition robot, R2Blue2, which was demonstrated by team mentor and instructor Richard Wilde.

Mt. Blue Middle School’s Cougar Crew poses at the Maine FIRST LEGO League State Championship on Feb. 1 at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. Submitted photo

Blue Crew Robotics expressed gratitude to volunteers and supporters, stating in a Facebook post, “Yesterday’s FLL State Championship was a success. The team had a great time hosting and volunteering. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and gave us the time, effort, and food. We couldn’t have done this without your help.”

As Blue Crew Robotics Team 6153 moves forward in the competition season, members are now focused on designing, prototyping, and building their robot for the upcoming FIRST Robotics Competition event on March 1 and 2 at Falmouth High School.

“There are many challenges the team faces throughout build season, however the biggest challenge we are facing right now is making sure everything works as intended,” said Knowles. “The robot is assembled and wired enough for the programmers to start working, and as we start testing we always find design flaws. Once the major components of the robot are built, we start working on the smaller details. Although this may seem like the easier phase, it can often be a challenge to work around the major established pieces of the robot while still finding reliable design solutions. We will continue to work on the robot and fix issues as they arise, with a focus on getting major components working by our first competition in March.”

The enthusiasm and dedication demonstrated at the FIRST LEGO League State Championship reflect the growing interest in STEM opportunities in the Mt. Blue community and beyond.