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Short circuit! Middle school robot battle comes to Bay Ridge

Short circuit! Middle school robot battle comes to Bay Ridge
Photo by Georgine Benvenuto

Talk about micro processors!

More than two dozen teams of brainy middle schoolers duked it out in a Lego robot-building competition at Xaverian High School on Feb. 6, and 12 teams qualified to compete in the New York City First Lego League championship at the Javits Center on Mar. 12. One school-age robiticist nearly blew a circuit when he found out his team was advancing to the championship, a parent said.

“Louis, my son, really enjoyed himself at the qualifier,” said Eugene Cuoco, of Bensonhurst. “This was the first time in three years he’s been part of the Lego League, and he says it’s the best one he’s done by far.”

The 9–14-year-old students built Lego robots to compete in problem-solving competitions and games. This year’s theme was trash and recycling — each team built an automaton to compete in waste-related challenges and present innovative solutions to real-world waste problems, officials said.

Community groups such as the Girl Scouts and local church groups sponsored the teams of two to 10 students

Louis’s team, the Genesis Incinerators, won an award for Strategy & Innovation and qualified for the championship.

The pint-sized engineers had a little help from adults, but kids did all the heavy lifting, one coach said.

“Ninety percent of the final product comes straight from the kids,” said Queens resident Francis Belizario. “My job is really just to be a fly on the wall.”