KINGSTON, R.I- November 9, 2011- Communication, scientific inquiry, and teamwork were just a few of the skills sharpened by hundreds of students, ranging from ages 9 through 16 from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire who participated in the First Lego League Rhode Island recently at the 溏心vlog免费B站.
鈥淭his summer, Mary Johnson coordinator of First Lego League of Rhode Island approached us to host their 2011 kickoff event. We were pleased to work with Mary in organizing this event,鈥� says Martha Patnoad, 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of nutrition and food sciences. 鈥淲e viewed this a wonderful opportunity and clearly within the goals of the Cooperative Extension Food Safety Education outreach program.鈥�
鈥淲e would like to thank the wonderful speakers who gave up their Saturday morning to share their knowledge and experiences with the middle school students and their team coaches who attended the event,鈥� says Lori Pivarnik, coordinator of Food Safety Outreach and Research of the Cooperative Extension Food Safety Education Program.
Among the 250 participants bouncing from room to room, one particular team aimed to be Rhode Island鈥檚 next budding scientists. The Hyper-Green Oreos of Lincoln were pumped and ready to hear from the experts on this year鈥檚 theme of food safety.
They were introduced to food science experts such as Ernest Julian, chief of the office of food protection for the Rhode Island Department of Health, Albert Kausch a 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of cell and molecular biology, Mary Yebba from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, William Bigelow from Blount Fine Foods, Susan Wallace from Johnson and Wales University, Jesse Rodrigues, Jr. from Rhode Island Nurseries, Michelle Richardson from U.S Army Natick Soldier Research and Development Center, Lynda Hoxie from Dave鈥檚 Marketplace, P. Christopher Ellis a retiree from the state Department of Health, and Michael Vidal and Jim Lusignan of Nordson Engineered Fluid Dispensing Company.
The event was held in the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 newest science building. Students watched demonstrations from Lego League mentors, high school students from the First Tech Challenge, and even a hot air balloon demonstration.
The Hyper-Green Oreos team members beamed with excitement as they shared memories and ideas for this year鈥檚 First Lego League competition tournament.
One student Ean Dreszek, 13, expressed great enthusiasm for the program saying, 鈥淚t gets you interested in the sciences, working with friends, and meeting new people. It isn鈥檛 really a competition. Well, it鈥檚 friendly competition.鈥�
For this year鈥檚 tournament on Jan. 14 the Hyper-Green Oreos will be focusing on the safety of milk; how do we get milk? When and why does it spoil? Can the consumer measure bacteria in milk? The competition involves extensive research on the topic, following robotic missions and finally demonstrating teamwork. Approximately 40 teams across Rhode Island will compete at Roger Williams University
Pictured above
The Hyper Green Oreos of Lincoln, RI watch a Lego robot demonstration at the First Lego League event at 溏心vlog免费B站.
Ean Dreszek, 13, of Lincoln Rhode Island enjoys a Lego robot demonstration on food safety.
溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Communications & Marketing photos by Michael Salerno Photography