We are always delighted to share news from Port Townsend’s NW Discovery Lab.  The educational and life enhancement this program offers…well, we wish we’d had them as kids.  We are fortunate to have this program thriving here.   Here’s the latest. Teaser: it involves long-duration space travel, robots, a high-tech treadmill and LEGOS.  Click here for a cool video to give you a visual on what the kids are up to.

Lego robotics team goes INTO ORBIT with Infinadeck

NW Discovery Lab’s veteran FIRST LEGO League team, The Howling Chickens, will compete for its third time on Bainbridge Island this Saturday, December 8. The competition, a regional qualifying event put on by FIRST Washington, is part of the nationwide FIRST LEGO League challenge, an annual competition designed to inspire youth in science and technology.

Each year, FIRST issues a challenge: a problem for teams to solve. This year’s challenge name is “Into Orbit.” It consists of two parts: the Robot Game and the Project. The first part, the part that often draws kids into FLL in the first place, is the Robot Game. The team must build and program a robot that can complete a number of tasks (or missions) on a set field for points. The more missions the robot completes, the more points the team earns. The second part of the competition is the project. This year, teams must IDENTIFY a physical or social problem faced by humans during long-duration space travel, DESIGN a solution to that problem, and SHARE the problem and solution with others.

The two parts are of equal importance: a team cannot win a competition if it doesn’t perform well in both aspects of the competition. It must also embody and demonstrate the FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Cooperation through its Core Values: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun.

This year, the Howling Chickens brainstormed several problems and their solutions before finally settling on the problem of astronauts’ physical and mental health during long-duration space travel. The team spent weeks researching the challenges that astronauts face, which include accelerated bone loss and muscle atrophy, and depression. After researching how NASA and other space agencies currently fight these challenges, the team decided that the most efficient solution would be for astronauts to use a VR headset to simulate earth’s environment while moving on an omnidirectional treadmill.

Thanks to generous local sponsors, the team was able to purchase an Oculus Rift VR headset. They reached out to Infinadeck, creators of the world’s first true omnidirectional treadmill (similar to the one featured in the blockbuster “Ready Player One”). Infinadeck was enthusiastic about the Howling Chickens’ solution, as it is one they’ve been pursuing as well. Company CEO Benjamin Freeman and Infinadeck inventor George Burger were gracious enough to meet with the team via teleconference to introduce them to the Infinadeck treadmill and answer questions.

The Howling Chickens asked the gentlemen a series of questions about how they envisioned the omnidirectional treadmill working in space, and how they could design a system based on the treadmill. They confirmed that the kids were on the right track with their creative solution.

“It was really interesting talking with George Burger and Ben Freeman,” said Ike Banks, 13, a Howling Chickens team member. “I didn’t realize they were going to have the treadmills in gyms and arcades so soon.”

NW Discovery Lab hopes to team with Infinadeck again in the future, knowing that the “cool factor” of the omnidirectional treadmill is a perfect device to inspire kids in STEM education.

ABOUT NW DISCOVERY LAB:

The NWDL is a Port Townsend based non-profit dedicated to STEM education on the Olympic Peninsula. Find more information at www.nwdiscoverylab.org.