Budding Engineers Team Up to Help Senior Citizens

The following article was submitted by Catherine Gillies, and edited. 

Members of the Edgewater-based FIRST Lego League Team “BrickHawks” and Junior FIRST Lego League Team "Legos on a Roll" got to put themselves in someone else's shoes for a little hands-on training at a recent research field trip.

The teams—comprised of young engineers competing in robotics competitions—are working on projects focused on FIRST's 2012 “Senior Solutions" theme. Focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)-centered projects, designing innovative solutions to problems faced by many senior citizens. The two teams of 16 budding engineers recently took a research field trip to Annapolis Healthcare Supplies, where they were guided by Christine Lamolinara through the history of mobility aids and the design and use of many assisting devices.

Some of the kids are contemplating how to build a better wheelchair and, like BrickHawk member Alex, they were thrilled by the opportunity to sit and wheel one around.  Some of the other team members got to try out some of the other assisting devices, such as grabbers, canes and compression socks.

Legos on a Roll team member Kate tried out the compression socks and was surprised how difficult they were to put on, even for her relatively small feet.

BrickHawks team member Suzanne explained, "Science can help people solve problems. We are working with seniors at the Edgewater Brightview Senior Living Center and are helping them solve a problem they are experiencing."

The two teams will participate in a FIRST event at South River High School on Dec. 8. The BrickHawks will be presenting their team's work and participating in a robot design and programming FIRST Lego League qualifier event that day. They hope to score well enough to proceed to the state level in 2013. The Legos on a Roll team will be presenting their work to a panel of judges in the Junior FIRST Lego League Expo.

For more information on FIRST, visit their webpage.