On Saturday, November 10th the Hertford County 4-H Robo Bears traveled to Cary, North Carolina to compete in the Local Qualifier for First Lego League Robotics Tournament.  The Hertford County 4-H Robo Bears team is comprised of students from four Hertford County Public Schools.  Based out of Ahoskie Elementary, the team includes members from the 4th and 5th grades, as well as members from Hertford County Middle School, Hertford County High School, Hertford County Early College High School, and C. S. Brown High School.  The Hertford County 4-H Robo Bears met over the past two months to prepare for the 2012 First Lego League Senior Solutions Challenge.  The team built and programmed a Lego Mindstorm robot to accomplish several missions relating to mobility loss and older adults.  In addition, the team researched, wrote, and performed a presentation for the judges based on mobility issues, finding innovative solutions, and fostering independent living among seniors.   The First Lego League is a robotics program developed by FIRST Foundation to inspire and recognize science and technology.  The program provides young people a chance to experience technology hands on through robotics engineering and a chance to solve real world problems.  For more information about First Lego League, please visit www.usfirst.org.  The Hertford County 4-H Robo Bears would like to thank the following generous sponsors who provided their time, energy, and resources to make this important STEM opportunity possible: North Carolina A & T State University, North Carolina State University, Hertford County Cooperative Extension, Hertford County Public Schools, Dr. Michael Perry – Superintendent, Parent Team at Ahoskie Elementary School, Mr. Stan Warren – Principal, Ms. Kim Scott Assistant Principal, Mr. Gonzalo Pit Pit – 5th Grade Teacher, Mrs. Renee Lassister – Parent Volunteer, Mr. Jochen Kunstler – Parent Volunteer, Hertford County Office of Aging, Ms. Shirley Bunch – Community Volunteer, W. H. Basnight & Co. - Ahoskie, Ace Hardware – Ahoskie, Dr. Richard Alexander – Vidant R-C Hospital, Dr. Beverly Edwards, Mr. Tony Simmons of Tony’s Place, and Mr. Ron Lane.  What’s next for the Hertford County 4-H Robo Bears?  The team will be presenting a demonstration at the upcoming Hertford County School Board meeting in December at the Central Office Board Room.  The team will also present their accomplishments in an upcoming assembly at Ahoskie Elementary as well.  Several new teams will be starting in additional schools in the county order to provide this opportunity to more students and to gain more practice and skill in preparation for next year’s tournaments.  For more information about the Hertford County 4-H Robo Bears, please contact Caroline Stephenson, Extension 4-H Agent at 358-7822 or at caroline_stephenson@ncsu.edu.

For more information about the Hertford County 4-H Program please contact Caroline Stephenson at... Hertford County Extension Office North Carolina Cooperative Extension Hertford County Center P.O. Box 188 301 W. Tryon Street Winton, NC 27986 252) 358-7822 PHONE 252) 358-7880 FAX email: caroline_stephenson@ncsu.edu http://hertford.ces.ncsu.edu/ Follow Hertford County 4-H on Twitter at... https://twitter.com/Hertford4H North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability. In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.