A team of talented Filipino kids recently made history by winning a robotics Lego competition in Houston, USA. The team, known as "The Brick Titans, Philippines", consisted of six students from De La Salle Santiago Zobel in Muntinlupa City, who competed in the First Lego League (FLL) World Championship Explore Division (ages 6-10).
The young geniuses, namely Thoren Garcia, Markus Bellezza, Raphael Dollente, Brent Escalona, Carlo Ramos, and Hugo Tan, were awarded the coding category prize for their outstanding performance in the competition. The event was held from April 19-22 at the George Brown Convention Center in Houston.
This year's FLL competition focused on the global need for sustainable energy, and the Brick Titans' winning model was a renewable energy-powered community theme park. The model utilized wind turbines, solar panels, biomass facilities, piezoelectric ceramics, and a rainwater collector for hydro energy. The team used Lego pieces with moving parts, which they programmed to function like the parts in real theme parks, such as the turbines and ferris wheel.
The Brick Titans, Philippines
The program coordinator for the Institutional Robotics team of De La Salle Santiago-Zobel, Joyce Calica, said that this competition gave students the experience to solve actual real world-problems through robotics. “They were able to develop being patient with one another. They learned how to cooperate with one another. They knew that if they will be able to know the different brick parts, how to build those Legos, their creativity are also developed,” said Calica.
The FLL competition provides a platform for participants to tackle real-world problems by encouraging them to develop unique solutions through fundamental engineering principles as they design and code a model using Lego bricks. As highlighted by the Philippine contingent's camp, the competition's aim is to explore solutions to real-world issues.
Garcia's mother, Athena, who accompanied the team to Houston, revealed that the next edition of the competition will have a different theme. This competition offers young students an opportunity to showcase their creativity, problem-solving abilities, and technical skills, while also inspiring them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The FLL competition empowers the next generation of innovators to create a better world through technology and innovation.
