BB5 - Springing Into Action

Greetings FIRST LEGO Leauge Jr Oregon,

In this update you will find:

1. New Expos!!!
2. Expo Host needed April 25-26
3. Not too late to start a team.
4. FIRST LEGO League Jumpstart
5. What Happens at an Expo

Read this update as a blog

Welcome to BOOMTOWN BUILD! All coaches in Oregon are automatically added to this mailing list. Teams in neighboring communities are welcome to participate in Oregon Expos provided there is space.  If you have missed an email from Oregon you may read the archive on our blog, or see the important links on our website. Official updates and program materials can be found on the FIRST LEGO League Jr Challenge website.

1) New Expos!!!

They are here! We have new expos for your team to attend.  Your team may attend as many expos as they like, however; teams that have not yet attended an expo will receive a preference of attendance for each event. 

Expo*	Date	Location
Arches Expo	November 9, 11-2pm	Christ United Methodist Church, NW Portland
Bridges Expo	April 4, 9-Noon	Centro Cultural, Cornelius
Community Spaces Expo	April 4, 1-5pm	Centro Cultural, Cornelius
Foundation Expo	May 9, Noon-4pm	Horizon Christian School, Hood River
Gateway Expo	May 23, 9-Noon	Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville
Hardware Expo	May 23, 1-5pm	Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville
Innovative Spaces Expo	June 6, 9-Noon	Buckingham Elementary School, Bend

You may register your team for an expo by completing this form: https://ortop.org/flljr/expo-registration/

I look forward to seeing all your team has created this season.  Remember the names are just for fun, your team can show whatever they have built this year!

2) Expo Host needed April 25-26

ORTOP would like to host 4 additional expos the weekend of April 25-26, we thought we had a location, but no longer do 😢 Do you have a venue that would love to host many excited young engineers? We would like to run the expos from 9-Noon and from 1-5pm.  Each expo will need an engaging activity, which is an amazing opportunity to show off your venue. Please reach out to Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org if you can host on one or both of those days.

3) Not too late to start a team.

FIRST LEGO League Jr does not run on a strict season.  It is not too late to join the fun and start a team! ORTOP does recommend that teams begin 6 weeks prior to the expo they hope to attend, but depending on the students and flexibility some teams have done shorter or longer time frames.  Not sure how to get started, we recommend starting here: https://ortop.org/flljr/fll-jr-home/

4) FIRST LEGO League Jumpstart

If your team is ready to move up to FIRST LEGO Leauge for the 2020 season, you may register your FIRST LEGO League team now and have that registration carry over to the new game released in August!  You also can choose from the following past challenges to practice with while you wait for the new game! Your team will need a LEGO EV3 or LEGO SPIKE PRIME robot kit to use with these missions. Offer expires on February 21 For more information or to register. 

5) What Happens at an Expo

The FIRST LEGO League Jr Expo is all about the team. FIRST LEGO League Jr team members will be provided a space - typically half of a 6ft or 8ft table, although we do tend to use whatever the host venue has. In this space, the team will display their LEGO build from BOOMTOWN BUILD and their Show Me Poster. The event is set up science fair style, so once things are set up, they don't need to be moved again until the expo is ending. All teams will be welcomed with an opening ceremony. Immediately following, FIRST LEGO Leauge teams, if they are available, will begin sharing about the next level of program and members of our high school programs will come around and review assigned teams. Each reviewer may need to talk with up to 4 teams. This means some teams will go see first, and others will be reviewed first, your reviewer will let you know which your team is.

After you have been reviewed, please take time to see the other teams. The host will have an activity for your team to participate in while the reviewers are deciding your team's strength. The expo is not a competition, and teams are never compared to each other. Your reviewer will choose an award that best reflects their impression of your team.  When all the reviewers are ready, we will wrap up the event with a closing ceremony! 

Your team does not need a prepared presentation and our reviewers are very good at working with shy, and friendly, and all the teams in between. By attending an expo you give your team the opportunity to practice communicating about their engineering ideas and share what they have learned with others, in their own words. This is a tremendous skill to get started and we see the impact of team members who participated in expos as FIRST LEGO League Jr members in our high school programs.

I do hope you will be joining us soon!

I hope you have all had a wonderful winter.  I am through the bulk of my cancer treatment and hope to be returning to my normal energy levels soon. Thank you for your patience and understanding this year as I was on so much medical leave.

Best Wishes,
Loridee

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