Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011 - Hawaii State Championship Tournament

Well, we made it!  Here we are at the Hawaii First LEGO LEAGUE State Championship Tournament at the Neal Blaisdell Center, on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011.  We're all very excited to be here.  More than 200 teams participated in the district qualifying tournaments!  As a result, there are 56 teams from across the state here, today.  We've met teams from Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and the Big Island, and of course, Oahu.  Teams are made up of students from the age of 9-14.  So that explains why there are some really tall kids here.  

Our morning was really busy, going to all three interviews - the Robot Design, the Research Presentation, and the Core Value interview.    We learned  alot about ourselves, and what it takes to work together as a team, and how important that is in order to have team success.

We did well in all areas, and was so thrilled to learn that we were considered for an award for Research Presentation!

When the robot games began, so did the noise  It was sure loud as the speakers were trying to excite the crowd, and calling out the team names  Once the games started, of course, it got even louder as the cheers for teams began.  

Although we did not win an award what we learned about ourselves and about teamwork was much more important  We learned what it takes to be the "Gracious Professional".  Now that we learned all of this in our head, it's time to practice it in our hearts! 

Great job, Mekanikal Maniaks and Lightning Maniaks.  We are so, so, so very proud of you!

Thank you to all the parents and families who have supported us through the past 2 months!

See you next year!

 Family and friends of the Maniaks came to support our two teams.

 Getting ready for the robot game.  Make sure you take the time to align your robot.

It's very important to refer back to your checklist, just to make sure everything is ready.

See the concentration.  You have to really focus on the mission, and think positive.

Putting on attachments as quickly as you can takes much practice.

Going for the Grocery Mission.  Is it going to work???  

Alignment looks good.   5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . LEGO!

"Go Mekanikal Maniaks, Go Mekanikal Maniaks, Go Mekanikal Maniaks, Go . . .Go . . . Go!

Get the attachment ready, and set the mission, quickly!  Good job!

Going fishing.  One of our favorite missions.

Just checking the wheels and alignment before the beginning of the mission.  Looks good!

Working together takes coordination, so that each person knows his job, and what his partner's responsibility is. 

Oh, the suspense of it all.  Will it work?  Will it succeed?

Hey, which cheer should we do next?

Let's go Maniaks, let's go!   Let's go Maniaks, let's go!  

Let's do it.  Get those fish!

Okay everybody, keep your fingers crossed!  Will the robot do it?

Yeah!  You can do it!  Good try!  Keep going!  Go Maniaks!

Presenting . . . Team #4003 - The Mekanikal Maniak

And here is Team #11570 - The Lightning Maniaks

Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011

Today, Team #11570, The Mekanikal Maniaks 2 went to the district qualifying tournament at Kalani High School.  It was a big tournament, with a total of 20 teams.  Our pit tables were in the cafeteria, with the robot matches held in the gym.  It was an exciting, fun tournament, and to make it even more special, we had our very own cheering section, led by our siblings and families.  We felt really good about our presentations, and really tried our best.  During the robot games, we cheered for our team, as well as others.  We even got to do our own team cheer in front of the audience with a microphone.

During the awards, we were pleasantly surprised to win the award for "Team Work."  Right after that, we were still in shock, as they announced that Team #11570  would also be advancing to the State Championship tournament!  Great job, Mekanikal Maniaks!  We hope you can come cheer us on on Sat. Dec. 3rd.

P.S  We have decided to change our team name for the State Championship Tournament.  We voted to call oursevles the "Lightning Maniaks!"

 Meet Team #11570 - The Mekanikal Maniaks . . . aka The Lightning Maniaks

View of the robot matches, from the audience's point of view.

Celebrating a great robot match! 

 Winning the award for Excellent Team Work, and celebrating our advancing to the State Championship Tournament in December.

 Getting ready for the start of the robot match, in the gym at Kalani High School.

 Click to play a video of the robot game.

 Wanna hear the most energetic team share their cheer?  

 Click to play a close up of the robot match.  See the Lightning Maniak run through as many missions as they can.

 Hooray for Team # 11570.  Go Maniaks!

Here we are, with big smiles to celebrate our award for excellent Team work and for advancing to the State Championship Tournament in a few weeks.  Wish us luck!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Meet Team #4003.  We competed today at the Punahou Tournament.  We were so excited and ready to go.  Nerves have not gotten the best of us.  There are only 5 on our team, but we worked hard.  We were all ready for the Food Factor Challenge, and to have some FUN!  Our team did very well.  We qualified, and were invited to compete in the Hawaii First Lego League State Championship tournament on Saturday, Dec. 3rd at the Blaisdell.  Come and support and cheer for us.  Good luck Team #4003!  Go Maniaks!!!

Flashing the shaka is a good sign!

 Ready to begin the fun!

 Getting in some last minute practice.

 Make sure to aim carefully.

 Go Maniaks, Go!

 Congratulations, Team #4003, for a job well done!

 District Tournament qualifiers.  We will proudly represent Liholiho at the Blasidell.

 Some time in the morning to practice our research presentation.

 The Mekanikal Maniapp . . . an app to test . . .

 Go Maniaks!!!

 We did it!!!  Yay!

Coaches for Team #4003 - tired, but happy and proud

Sat. October 22, 2011

Practice makes perfect! Team #4003 is working toward their goal. Team #4003 was mostly working on their research and their props. Team #11570 is working on both research and their robots. They made only a little bit of success on their robots. The research has improved much more since the beginning.

Team #11570 is still going toward success!

Team #4003 is working on their Maniapp!

On sale from November 5th, at Punahou. It could just save your life.  

Robot on the loose! DANGER!!!!

Problem solved!

Here is the Mekanikal Cooler.  The cooler is really close to being done

Here We Go Again!!! Sat. October 15, 2011

This year, the Mekanikal Maniaks have two teams - #4003, participating in the Punahou tournament on Nov. 5th, and #11570, participating in the Kalani High School tournament on Nov. 12th.  The theme for this year's competition is "Food Factor."  We're hard at work, and want to share with you our weekly progress.  We hope you follow along and enjoy our blog.

We made a jig to start the robot in same position every time.

This is one of our research teams working on the Mekanikal Cooler.  They're making the props.

Team #11570's robot is going fishing.

Team #4003 is on a rat hunt!  Gotta catch those rodents to keep our food clean and safe.

We're "fishing" for our first mission of the game.

Aim carefully . . . and have your partner check to make sure the robot it ready

Here is one of our innovation solutions - The Mekanikal Cooler!  It keeps food fresh, better than your regular cooler!

We're doing lots of research online and interviewing experts to help with our research on Food Safety.

This is our other innovative solution, The Mekanikal Maniapp.  And you thought the iPhone was good?  Wait till you see this!

Here is our "Blog Master" working on the blog to share our progress each week with our viewers.