Our journey to states!

Our journey to the state championships began before regionals and before the school year. The McLean FLL team attended an FLL summer camp in Maryland to learn the basics of coding and the robot game. It was the first year all of the students were participating in FLL.

Once the school year started, we held bi-weekly practices for the robot game and innovation project, assisted by high school volunteers from Langley High School. FLL practice became a family ritual on Friday nights. Siblings and parents came to support the team and enjoy each other’s company. Friday practices were like hangouts, with pizza breaks and game time alongside coding and robot game practice. Each family played a role in supporting the team by taking on tasks such as mentoring.

Thursday practices focused on the innovation project. To align with the Unearthed theme, the team researched archaeology, including a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. After this initial research, the team spoke with Smithsonian paleo-anthropologist Dr. Briana Pobiner. McLean Robotics founder Prthika Lanka arranged the meeting, where the students asked questions to guide their understanding. The team also visited the Alexandria Museum of Archaeology and spoke with Dr. Emma Richardson.

Drawing on those conversations and their research, the team brainstormed innovation project ideas. They chose to explore how to uncover the stories behind artifacts. After researching possible approaches, they decided to prototype an app to help archaeologists identify artifacts. The app included a chat box and a database where archaeologists could store and share information. To present the project to the judges, the team wrote and practiced a skit and developed a poster board during Thursday practices.

On regional competition day, the team arrived ready to compete and have fun. They won the Division 1 robot game and received the second-place championship trophy, qualifying for the state championships.