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Taking LEGO building bricks to a level well beyond the basic structures of childhood, a team of home-schooled students from the Northland is traveling to Nebraska this weekend to compete in the FIRST LEGO League competition.

With the team members will go a programmed robot they constructed complete with interchangeable features. Their robot will need to complete a series of assigned tasks on a closed course within a set period of time.

“It’s cool watching it when it all goes right,” said Cullan Fritts, a team member from Kearney.

He also liked constructing their robot, as did Keenan Conkling of Smithville who is looking forward to competing against other teams.

Aspen Speiser of Gladstone, one of the youngest team members, said she enjoyed another aspect of the program.

“It was a lot of fun making the board,” she said.

The board the robot runs on contains a series of challenges that must be met within an allotted time.

The competition, though, doesn’t stop there.

Another component is a research project that includes a presentation to judges. In costume, the Northland team will present the pros and cons of radio frequency identification.

This is an aspect of the competition that Daniel Andrews of Liberty said he enjoys.

Lori Fritts of Kearney, whose home the team practices at four times a week, said the squad will be judged on its robot’s run, research project, teamwork and team spirit.

She also knows that the first-year team will be competing against more experienced squads.

That’s not slowing the team down, though.

“They’re very young, but they’re working hard and having fun,” she said.

The team came together after the Fritts family moved to the Northland. Lori Fritts and her husband, Craig Fritts, had participated in FIRST LEGO League for five years in Michigan with their two oldest children, Megan and Logan.

When we came here we decided it was time for our youngest son to start,” Lori Fritts said.

They contacted other area home-schooled families, and a team was quickly formed.

“We were swamped with people wanting to be on it,” Lori Fritts said.

She knows how rewarding the outcome can be in the program as her two oldest children ended up competing at the national level, earning a trip to the White House.

“It was a real exciting, rewarding experience,” she said.

FIRST LEGO LEAGUE

- FIRST LEGO League is a powerful program that engages children in playful and meaningful learning while helping them discover the fun in science and technology through the FIRST experience.

- FIRST (for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest in science and technology.

Source: www.firstlegoleague.org.

UP NEXT TEAM MEMBERS

- Cullan Fritts, 11, Kearney

- Andrew Marshall, 10, Gladstone

- Peter Marshall, 11, Gladstone

- Aspen Speiser, 10, Gladstone

- Cale Speiser, 13, Gladstone

- Daniel Andrews, 12, Liberty

- Keenan Conkling, 13, Smithville

- Ian Canon, 9, Plattsburg

- Zane Canon, 12, Plattsburg

- Cooper Lehr, 14, Weatherby Lake

Senior writer Mark Johnson can be reached at 781-4941 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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