ATA donates to area LEGO League teams

  • Published
  • By Deidre Ortiz
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  As a partner to the Tullahoma Chapter of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE), the Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) Employee and Community Activities Committee (ECAC) recently provided a $3,300 donation for the purchase of robot kits for local FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) teams.

FLL, which has been sponsored by TSPE since 2006, is a program designed to engage middle school youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) related activi-ties.

Harry Clark, TSPE Tullahoma Chapter president, stated ATA leadership has always been very supportive of the youth programs that TSPE sponsors. "This recent gift is just another example of ATA's commitment to STEM in our local area," he said.

According to the program's website, FLL is meant to introduce younger students to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a the-matic playing surface. As part of the program, FLL teams discover teamwork and exciting career possibilities.

With the help of adult guidance, elementary and middle-school students get to: design, build, program and test robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology; apply real-world math and science concepts; research challenges facing today's scientists; learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills; and participate in tournaments and celebra-tions.

The Tullahoma Chapter of the TSPE has several FLL teams in the region that it spon-sors and supplies with the materials needed to compete. The robot kits purchased with the help of ATA's donation will be given to new teams or existing ones needing updated kits for the FLL World Class competition.

Together, TSPE and ATA have assisted in hosting many FLL events such as the re-gional qualifying tournament held annually at Tullahoma High School.

While FLL is one of the more well-known programs, Clark explained LEGO League is only one of several educational outreach efforts TSPE supports.

"The Tullahoma Chapter of the TSPE has a long history of engaging in educational out-reach activities that are today referred to as STEM outreach," he said. "For more than 25 years we have hosted the local MathCounts® competition for middle school students, which is the first step along the way to competing in the National MathCounts competition. Since 1971 we have included Engineer for a Day, an opportunity for local high school seniors to spend a day at work with a practicing engineer, in our National Engineers Week activities. We have also sponsored a Student Design Competition for high school juniors and seniors for over 15 years."

Clark again thanked ATA for its involvement in the community and helping to spark stu-dents' interest in the subjects of science and math.

"The Tullahoma Chapter of TSPE is proud to be able to partner with ATA and the Air Force in these many STEM efforts," he said.