Inventioneers Win Top Prize at International LEGO Tourney

John Robinson
Londonderry Times
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The Inventioneers, New Hampshire’s State Champion First LEGO League (FLL) team,were recognized as the top FLL team in the world in the area of research last week at the international FIRST World Festival in Atlanta. The Inventioneers, a team of nine 9-14 year-olds from southern New Hampshire, were awarded First Place in Nanotechnology Research from a field of nearly 100 teams on Friday, April 13.

The Inventioneers’ project focused on alleviating the world’s drinking water crisis. “Over 1.2 billion people in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water,” their public awareness materials warn, “that’s four times the number of people who live in the United States. One person dies every 8 seconds from contaminated water-related diseases.”

The team was able to design and build a prototype filtration system using a filter membrane that filters at the nano level - targeting particles as small as one billionth of a meter. This means parasites and bacteria could be separated out of contaminated water. The other goal the team met was that its system would not require a power source.

One of the things the students are really excited about is that just this month, their filtration design received a provisional patent, which gives it patent-pending status. Additionally, the team has contacted a Christian non-profit relief agency that is interested in meeting with them to see how the two groups could work toward getting the filtration system directly to the people who need it most. The students have been working on this project since September 2006 and work will continue throughout the coming months and beyond.

To teach younger children about the field of nanotechnology, the world’s drinking water crisis, and water filtration, the Inventioneers wrote and illustrated an educational children’s storybook filled with hands-on activities. To learn more about their book, called “Big Fun with Real Science for Kids,” ask at your local library. If your library doesn’t have a copy yet, have them contact TheInventioneers@yahoo.com and they will be happy to donate a book. To find out more about the Inventioneers’ project and what you can do to help with the unsafe drinking water crisis, contact the team at www.TheInventioneers.com.

Teams from 38 countries vied for top awards at the FIRST World Festival in Atlanta last week. This invitational tournament brings the top FLL teams from around the world together to compete in different areas of science and technology.

Inventioneers coach Lisa Evarts contributed to this report.

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