Last Chance to Register for the OMSI Expos

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this post you will find:

1. Final days to register for the OMSI Expos
2. Evergreen Expos
3. World Festival
4. Other FIRST Events in Oregon

1) Final days to register for the OMSI Expos

Registration for the OMSI Expos will close this weekend! If your team would like to share their season at the OMSI Expos, please register through this link and pay the Expo Registration Fee for your team by Sunday night. While registration is listed to close on Friday, I will be at the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship until Monday. You will only receive a verification of your payment through our online credit card system. The registration system DOES NOT send a verification of receipt.

If your team has submitted an application for this event, you will be notified of your event assignment on Monday. Teams who have asked to be with other teams will be accommodated as long as both teams as for the same event and space allows. 

Information about all Oregon Expos can be found at: http://www.ortop.org/jfll/overviewEXPO.htm

2) Evergreen Expos

Registration will remain open for the Evergreen Expos on Saturday, May 6 until two weeks prior to the event. Which will be April 22nd. Teams will be notified of their assignment the week after. If your team has attended the OMSI expo, they are allowed to register and pay again to attend the Evergreen Expo, however; teams who have not attended an Expo will be given priority. Please use the same link to apply for the Evergreen Expos.

3) World Festival

This year FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon will be represented at the World Festival in Houston by Team 8286 Bumblebees from Bethany Elementary School, Beaverton. Bumblebees was drawn by lottery and will present their Creature Craze model and Show-Me Poster in Houston, Texas April 20-22, 2017. Good luck Bumblebees! We hope you have a wonderful event!

4) Other FIRST Events in Oregon

FIRST LEGO League Jr leads to 3 more programs, all of which are competing in Oregon this month! We hope to see you at one of these events!

February 26 - FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship, Benson Polytechnic High School, Portland. Opening Ceremonies start at 9:15am and Competition will go until 4:00pm.

March 4 & 5 - Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League State Championships, Glencoe High School, Hillsboro. Opening Ceremonies will be at 9am each day, and robot competitions will run until 2:20 each day. FIRST LEGO League Jr teams are invited for a behind the scene tour on Saturday at 2:30pm on Saturday March 4. Teams need to sign up using this form at least 48 hours before the event.

March 9-11 - FIRST Robotics Competition Wilsonville District Tournament, Wilsonville High School, Wilsonville. Competitions take place during the day on March 10 and 11. Come see this year's game STEAMWORKS!

March 23-25 - FIRST Robotics Competition CAIS District Tournament, Jackson Campus, Oregon City. Competitions are during the day on March 24 & 25.

March 30-April 1 - FIRST Robotics Competition Lake Oswego District Tournament, Lake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego. Join the competition at this new event on March 31 and April 1. 

Best Wishes,

Loridee

Information Night, Expo Info, and Next Steps

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this post you will find:

1. Lottery for teams to attend the World Championship from Oregon closes Feb 13
2. Coach and Parent Information Night in Hood River
3. How to register for an official Oregon Expo
4. FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition happenings and volunteers needed

1) Lottery for teams to attend the World Championship from Oregon closes Feb 13

If your FIRST LEGO League Jr team would like to represent Oregon at the World Festival in Houston, Texas. There is still time to put your name in the drawing. The selected team will need to cover all fees and travel expenses to participate in the World Festival with teams from other states and countries. 

The World Festival is in Houston Texas from April 20-22nd.

2) Coach and Parent Information Night in Hood River

Are you, or is someone you know interested in learning more about FIRST LEGO League Jr for the young people in their life or for the Kindergarten through 4th-grade classroom? Please join me on February 15th for a FIRST LEGO League Jr information session!

6:00pm February 15, 2017
2990 Experiment Station Dr

Hood River, OR 

Attendees are welcome to bring beverages and snacks. There will be lots of opportunities to ask questions, see the LEGO WeDo 2.0 system, and learn about FIRST LEGO League Jr.  You do not need to sign-up to attend, there will be lots of room for all adults.  Kids may come, but the content will be focused for adults.

3) How to register for an official Oregon Expo

We will have 7 Official FIRST LEGO League Jr Expos in Oregon. These expos are open to any team who has an official national registration number. To register for an expo please complete the application form here. You will also need to pay an expo application fee for each expo your team wishes to attend.  If your team would like to attend more than one expo please submit a separate application for the other location. Space will be given as a priority to teams who have not attended any expos, but if space remains teams are welcome to attend at multiple locations.

The 7 Expos will be:
Antelope: OMSI Auditorium, March 18, from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Beaver: OMSI Auditorium, March 18, from 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Cougar: OMSI Auditorium, March 19, from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Duck: OMSI Auditorium, March 19, from 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Eagle: Evergreen Aviation Museum, May 6, from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Falcon: Evergreen Aviation Museum, May 6 from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
To Be Named: Columbia Gorge (either Hood River or The Dalles), May, midday - more details will be coming in the next month

The expo names are for fun and to differentiate each event, the teams attending may select any animal of their choosing to present at the expo.

4) FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition happenings and volunteers needed

As your child ages out of FIRST LEGO League Jr. there is a progression of FIRST programs waiting to continue to stimulate their curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and math. For 4th to 8th-grade students there is FIRST LEGO League, a fall-winter based competitive program.  The FIRST LEGO League Championship Tournaments were postponed this year due to harsh winter weather. The tournaments were recently rescheduled for March 4 & 5 at Glencoe High School in Hillsboro.

FIRST LEGO League Jr teams can sign up for a tour of FIRST LEGO League at the tournament here. The tour will begin after matches end on Saturday, so it is recommended to come early to see the robots in action.  Even if your team can not come for the tour, the robot competition is open to the public from 9 am to 2 pm both days. Parents and coaches are strongly encouraged to volunteer at the event, please follow the directions below to sign-up.

After FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition bring the challenge through high school. February brings the concluding tournaments for the FIRST Tech Challenge in Oregon. Next weekend there are 4 FIRST Tech Challenge events on Saturday, February 11, and Sunday, February 12th at both Poynter Middle School and South Meadows Middle School in Hillsboro. Visitors can watch the robots competing in the exciting Velocity Vortex game from Noon to at least 4 pm each day. The excitement will continue at the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship Tournament on February 25-26, 2017 at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland. Robots will be on the fields starting at 9 am on the 26th and through 4 pm on 4 fields. Many adult volunteers are also needed each day!

Oregon FIRST Robotics Competition teams will start their competitions in March at Wilsonville High School March 10-11. This year the 120-pound robots will be competing in the Steamworks game. Additional competitions will be at CAIS Jackson Campus in Oregon City on March 24-25 and Lake Oswego High School March 31-April 1.

To volunteer at a local FIRST event:

• Login to the FIRST Volunteer System 
• After you have completed your profile (if needed), select Apply to an Event
• Select the program you want to volunteer at (FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, or FIRST Robotics Competition)
• Select Oregon OR your zip code
• Find the event you want to volunteer at on the list
• Choose a role (up to 5), make sure you use the arrow to move your chosen role to the list on the right.
• Select the day(s) you are available
• Submit
• Complete the free background check with Verified Volunteers (needed once every three years)

If you have any question regarding volunteering please feel free to call ORTOP or contact Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org

Best Wishes,

Loridee