Tralee Girl Guide To Compete In All-Ireland Lego League Final

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Irish Girl Guides’ Team Paella made up of Girl Guides from Tralee, Cork and Clonmel pictured after they scooped the Best Robot Design award at the FIRST Lego League Regional Finals in Dublin City University. Back row from left: Lara Timoney O’Brien, Aoibheann Griffin, Orna Sexton and Patricia Gutteridge of Tralee Senior Branch. Front row from left: Ellie Hutchinson, Laura Molloy and Anna Hurley.

A MEMBER of Irish Girl Guides (IGG) from Tralee is gearing up to compete in the FIRST Lego League All Ireland Final that will take place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dublin, on this Saturday.

Patricia Gutteridge (16) of Tralee Senior Branch (Senior Branch is the IGG branch for 14-30 year olds) is part of a team of six IGG members who scooped the award for Best Robot Design at the regional finals that took place in Dublin City University on February 15.

FIRST stands for ‘For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology’ and the FIRST Lego League, which takes place in over 90 countries, encourages children and young people aged 11-16 to think like scientists and engineers, developing practical solutions to real-world issues.

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The teams operate under a signature core set of values, which include creative thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, communication and the spirit of friendly competition and co-operation.

The IGG members wowed the judges at the regional finals with their research, design and programming skills.

As well as designing and building an automated robot, they spent several months researching an issue with public spaces and buildings in their community and devised an innovation solution to combat this. The other girls on the team are from Cork and Clonmel.

The regional final saw the team present their research project and use their robot to undertake various challenges on a themed playing field while competing against other teams from around the country.

Patricia said: “When I first applied for the competition I had no idea what it really was or what I would be doing. It just seemed interesting so I went for it. Looking back now, I am so glad I did it because it has been such an amazing challenge and has taught me so much. I learned about the importance of working as a team and, as our team members are spread across Munster, we had many challenges to overcome in order to work together. I learnt about how to overcome any challenges that may arise while working.”

She continued, “I think the thing I enjoyed the most was getting to design, build and code the robot as I have always been interested in coding and robotics. This was the perfect opportunity for me to try coding and I’m so glad I did.”

IGG Chief Commissioner Amanda O’Sullivan said: “The girls have had a fantastic opportunity to develop their STEM skills through involvement in this project. The project development has promoted excellent team working and advanced the girls’ skills in research and development of a project, plus the experience of presenting their projects. The girls are brilliant role models for all members of Irish Girl Guides”.

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