The Dirt Busters Robotics Team Returns from the WPI Open First LEGO League (FLL) Competition

The Dirt Busters participated in the local Bethel FLL qualifier in December and won the Robot Performance award (with a score of 220 points in the Robot Games) and the Overall Champion’s award, which earned them a chance to represent Bethel at the state Robot Rendezvous in February. There, they won the  2nd place Innovative Project Award and got 3rd place in the Robot Games (with a score of 310 points).  They were able to participate in the final robot showdown and got an exciting 330 points!  In March, they were asked to represent the state of Alaska at the WPI WAFFLE Open FLL competition in Worcester, MA, in June.  There, they earned a personal best Robot Game score of 340 points  (getting 71st place of 107 teams), and they won a judges' award called the Aurora Award.  A Judges Award in First Lego League is a special discretionary recognition given by tournament judges to celebrate a team that stands out for a unique reason, inspirational journey, or a specific achievement that doesn’t fit into the standard award categories.  The team also submitted a nomination for the coach’s award.  Head coach Nicole Smith received one of the two coaches’ awards given.  “It was an exciting surprise and a great way to end the season and my robotics coaching career here in Bethel.  I am so proud of the hard work this team put into their extended season.”   Nicole has coached 24 robotics teams in Bethel over the last 13 years.  When students were asked to describe Mrs. Smith, they said, “She is kind and patient, and she listens when we talk to her. She helps you when you need to learn something new.”  Others say, “She always has a plan.” She has “inspired me to work hard and have fun at the same time.” 

At the WAFFLE, the Dirt Busters represented Alaska with pride and used their pit booth to share a lot of western Alaska history from our region with the 107 other WAFFLE teams (representing 44 states and 18 countries).  It went with the theme of archaeology and learning about the past. Our pit booth was constantly busy. We gave out 500 string story stings and 85 yo-yo kits. We told many string stories and learned a few new ones from others who remembered them from their own childhood.  We taught many people how to sew their own yo-yos and could see them practicing as we walked around the event. We had wooden story knives to decorate and told stories in the sand. The team learned the Berry Picking song for a yuraq dance, and after the performance, celebrated that first for many on the team by having a traditional throw party. We had an akutaq tasting and gave out pilot bread and crackers. We even brought a tub of tundra to showcase what the tundra looked and felt like, and what archaeologists are digging through to find artifacts. Our pit was a favorite with many teams as they loved learning about the Alaska Yup’ik culture.  “The excitement of our sharing extended beyond our pit booth.  As you walked through the whole pit area and sat in the gym during robot games, you could see other teams telling string stories to each other or trying to twirl a yo-yo. We accomplished teaching others that the stories of the past tell about our identity.  The Unearthed theme was a perfect segue into sharing our own western Alaska culture and history with others.”  

Highlights of the WAFFLE –James said “learning the Berry Picking song and participating in a yuraq performance”
Gretchen said “loved sharing string stories with others”
Paula said “sharing our culture with other people”
Amelia said “she enjoyed meeting so many people from other countries”
Emery said the “excitement of the whole competition -from robot games to pit sharing- was all the best”
Coaches – getting our overall high season score in the robot games and our pit booth was amazing!!  Watching our kids rise to the occasion of speaking to so many different groups of people and effectively sharing about their project and culture.
 
We want to thank those who helped sponsor our trip or spoke with us about archaeology in Alaska. The Lower Kuskokwim School District, the VWF Women’s Auxiliary, Uncommon Pizza, Katie Marsan -AVCP archeologist, Fawn Copley and the Alaska Department of History and Archeology, Katie Baldwin Basile & Alaska SeaGrant, Josh and Katie Oetter, DeHaan family, Barlett family, Kellie Umphrey, Peter and Jaguar Kristellar, Bethel Immersion School, ME School, FIRST in Alaska and the Juneau Economic Development Council, and the Bethel community who bought Kringles from our fundraiser.  Thank you for your donations.  This was a trip of a lifetime and will be remembered for many years to come. Please see their Poster Introduction, Project Summary, and the AK gov website (use the QR code) for more detailed information on their innovative project – the Archaeology of Alaska Activity Book.  They shared this project with many people across the state and even won the Todd Radenbaugh Award at the 18th Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference in April.  Their project is showcased on the State of Alaska Office of History and Archaeology website.

DB project summary.pdf
Dirt Buster poster - small.pdf