Lego Robotics, Chopsticks, Biology, and a Very Long Weekend

Two weeks ago, Aiden wrapped up his six weeks with his school's Lego Robotics team. It ended up being slightly more chaotic at the end than we would have liked, but considering the worst that happened was that we were all incredibly exhausted, I suppose it wasn't too bad. But let me back up a bit....

The Lego Robotics teams worked on designs to assist with recovery after natural disasters. Aiden's team worked on a wild fire solution. So every Tuesday and Friday for six weeks, Aiden stayed after school to go to team meetings and building days. It was a great opportunity for him to work on working with others as a part of a team - something he struggles with (I'll write a post about some challenges we've dealt with this school year later).

Aiden's portion of the design was a car that runs into a tree, knocks the tree on to a house, and then the roof collapses. I wish I'd gotten it on video. It was very smooth and creative!

One of the great things about this Lego Robotics team is that was run by Aiden's 1st grade teacher, Mrs Perry. I was able to relax knowing that someone who knew Aiden and what he struggled with was in charge. She's a fantastic teacher. (We're hoping Nathan gets her next year!)

So the chaos part. We had been told that the Lego Robotics exhibition (where all of the Jr Lego teams from the PDX area displayed their designs) was Saturday, March 15. St Patrick's Day weekend.....super easy to remember! Suddenly at noon on Friday, March 7, I get an email from the other coordinator. "Oops, we gave everyone the wrong date. It's actually tomorrow morning." WHAT?!? Had they ANY idea how crazy our week had been and was continuing to be? 

We had agreed for Aiden to attend a biology class at Multnomah University with Grandpa Dwight that very evening. That meant while the team was staying late scrambling to finish, Aiden had to leave so I could get him to grandma's and grandpa's on time. That also meant that Aiden was not going to get home until 10pm that night, and then have to turn around and get up at 6am the next morning. Honestly, we probably wouldn't have agreed to the biology class had we known the real exhibition date, but Aiden loved learning more about biology and using microscopes so I suppose the lack of sleep that night was worth it!

We needed a little bit of down time before the exhibition the next day, so while Aiden was out getting science-y with grandpa, John and I took Nathan out for chinese food. Nathan is our adventurous eater and we figured it would be a good time to take advantage of that. Plus, I did not feel like cooking.

 It was Nathan's first experience with chopsticks. Even after showing him how to use then, he went about it his own way. Unfortunately, he'd ordered lo mein. That's a hard thing to eat with chopsticks even when you're used to using them!

 He eventually switched to a fork.

Bright and early the next morning (it was actually still dark, but whatever), we grumbled and crawled our way out of bed to head out to OMSI. I could have kissed whoever decided coffee pots could be pre-programmed the night before. Traffic was absurdly busy for 8am on a Saturday, but we made it and were treated to a very nice parking spot close to the building. Yay for getting there well before they open to the public!

There were probably 25 teams from around the area and it was fun to look around and see all the projects. Upon closer inspection, I giggled at one of Aiden's teammates info cards that she had written. Without any knowledge as to what she's talking about, it seems a little frightening.

 "My name is Lena. I am in 2nd grade. I like math and swimming. I learned they can kill us. I am 8 years old."

While this wasn't a competition (that's the next level), each team was assigned a reviewer. These are high school students from around the area who are involved in the highest robotics competition levels. They have all made it to state competition with their designs, and a small portion of them have made it to the west coast competition in San Diego.

Aiden's team was one of the first teams to be reviewed. Here is Aiden doing a very good job explaining their design to the reviewer. He was calm and eloquent. I got a little teary eyed watching him. So proud!

After a long morning (and a HUGE coffee from OMSI's Galileo cafe), it was time for the awards ceremony. Each team was awarded a certificate with a creative title specifically regarding their design and what was most impressive to the reviewer, and each team member got a medal. One of Aiden's team members had quit the program a few weeks in but had already been registered with the exhibition. Since Nathan had been to just about every meeting (I was a team mom and Nathan had to come with me), Mrs Perry made him an honorary member at the last moment and sent him up with the team to get the additional medal. 

Even though we were very tired by this point, we took full advantage of being at OMSI and had a fun afternoon playing. 

 As we came up on this magnet area, Aiden shouts "Ooohhh!! Benzene!!"

Around 4pm, Nathan had a crying meltdown from exhaustion, so we figured it was time to head home. After a stop at the grocery store for something easy for dinner (yet again, I was not going to cook), we got home and all promptly collapsed. A two hour nap never felt so good.