Young scientists compete in Bozeman

Hundreds of young Montana scientists converged on Montana State University campus to play with Legos. "Play" would be a loose term, as the teams sent from the many Montana schools have been working for months to program their robots to perform tasks, maneuver obstacles and cross their fingers to stave off malfunctions. The Montana FIRST Lego League Tournament is a tech competition that attracts robotics-inclined students each year.

Kole Stone, a senior, competed in his third Robotics competition. "It was the best one I've ever been to," he said.

Students on Monday demonstrated how their robot could move and pick up a foam block. In the competition, the robot had to stack the blocks. The students also used a 3D printer to create some of the parts on their robot.

The competition took place at MSU in Bozeman earlier this month, and Sanders County schools have been sending teams to the science-based convention for years.

Stone credited the Montana Gear Up grant with aiding the success of the Robotics team. He said that a lot of other teams have to do community fundraising to earn money for their projects and travel. Teacher Eric Nygaard said that the Gear Up grant helps pay for parts, travel, registration and other fees, noting that the Thompson Falls High School Robotics program has received about $56,000 in the last seven years.

"I don't think we would have a program without that grant," Nygaard said. The team completed the competition at 7th place in the state, which is quite an accomplishment considering there are over 60 teams vying for top spots.

As the high school team finished up that Friday, the up and coming younger team known as the Roboticians prepared for their Saturday events. Students prepared presentations to be given to a panel of judges, who ranked them based on knowledge, personal presentation and a tally sheet of possibilities for points. The team awaited their turn for the Lego robot competition in the convention room with the other 64 teams. Each team had their presentation up as 'competitors' visited one another's tables to get a summary about their assigned subject. One cannot rightfully call these students competitors, as the whole conference has an atmosphere more like a comic convention or a science fair. Camaraderie amongst the brainiest of Montana's students came easily and compliments were more likely to be heard than the trash-talk typical of competitive sports.

When all was said and done, the Roboticians were able to land themselves 38th place out of 65 in the competition. With three chances to make their robot do the assigned tasks, their highest score was 50. "I will definitely be doing that again," said Robotician sixth grader Kael Brown.