Hello FLL-ers!


I hope all of you are aware of the Lego Google Moonbots
<http://www.moonbots.org/> competition – now in its fifth year, and
growing.  You should all have got the launch e-mail from First LEGO League
HQ  in Machester NH on or about March 17.  About 400 teams registered for
the competition by the deadline, and many have now submitted 3-minute Video
Essays on *Why Humans Should Return to the Moon For Good*.  There are about
ten FLL World Festival teams and four Virginia FLL teams in the Moonbots
competition, including two McLean Robotics Institute (MRI) teams.  There is
a short list at the bottom of the e-mail.  They all deserve your support.



Each Moonbots teams researched the assigned topic, and then used their
creativity to package the message in an amusing way.  This is just like the
research project component of the FLL competition, where teams have to do
good research and learn to convey the information effectively in just 5
minutes.



MRI is fielding two teams for​ ​this competition -- *Pi In The Sky* & *More
Rational Than Pi*.  The team names are both Pi jokes.  Pi is inherently
Irrational (meaning it cannot be expressed accurately as a fraction),
though there are rational approximations (22/7 etc.).  The two teams work
together, and yet compete.  They playfully poke fun at each other in their
videos.



*Pi In The Sky* uses the Ukraine crisis as a lead off to a Senate hearing
into space launch and servicing vulnerabilities.  This provides a perfect
backdrop for reviewing the advantages of permanent lunar habitation.  The *Pi
In The Sky* Video Essay "*Oh! To Be A Lune*" can be found at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJZIkRHGY74 or http://bit.ly/Moonbots1.



*More Rational Than Pi's essay, "Luniversity"* is about an imaginary X
Prize Competition for the first University to set up a campus on the Moon.
 At the end of a sleepy history class, the enthusiastic students
convince the Dean about the utility and value of lunar habitation. You have
to love the sleepers in the class.  The *More Rational Than* *Pi* Video
Essay "*Luniversity*" can be found at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp35QlGHfiY  or http://bit.ly/Moonbots2.



You will find a fuller explanation of the respective plots under the About
tab of the YouTube videos below.  I hope you enjoy the videos and the
familiar faces from many FLL Championship tournaments.



The top 25 teams worldwide will advance to the finals.  *The teams need
your support.  We would love it if you could share these videos with your
friends,* *families, college students, advanced kids who learn to sleep in
class before reaching college, teachers, deans and candidates for political
office (including head of household), grandparents and other people with
time and interest.​*



*For those who are willing to help the cause of science, please share your
favorite videos/shortlinks from this competition to your Facebook page, or
share them via your favorite social media platform* *(Instagram, LinkedIn,
Google+​, Twitter etc.).  It doesn’t have to be our team – helping any
Virginia-DC team would be great.*

​

Also, remember to like the videos if they capture your fancy, and leave
comments on YouTube.



VA Moonbots Teams:



*Team*

*Location*

*Team Link*

*Team Video Essay*

Lord of the Bricks

Mechanicsville, VA

*http://moonbots.org/team/lord-bricks
<http://moonbots.org/team/lord-bricks>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0UTXyFAGus
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0UTXyFAGus>*

RoBoLTZ Luna

Lorton, VA

*http://moonbots.org/team/roboltz-luna
<http://moonbots.org/team/roboltz-luna>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgz2dDyjonQ
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgz2dDyjonQ>*

More Rational Than Pi

McLean, VA

*http://moonbots.org/team/more-rational-pi
<http://moonbots.org/team/more-rational-pi>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp35QlGHfiY
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp35QlGHfiY>*

Pi In The Sky

McLean, VA

*http://moonbots.org/team/pi-sky <http://moonbots.org/team/pi-sky>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJZIkRHGY74
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJZIkRHGY74>*



FLL World Festival Teams (US):

*Team*

*Location*

*Team Link*

*Team Video Essay*

Panda-monium

Huntsville AL

*http://moonbots.org/team/panda-monium
<http://moonbots.org/team/panda-monium>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyHBP3wYOnA
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyHBP3wYOnA>*

Space Pandas

Owens Cross Roads AL

*http://moonbots.org/team/space-pandas
<http://moonbots.org/team/space-pandas>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwCizvPYxhE
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwCizvPYxhE>*

Everyday Heroes

Mesa AZ

*http://moonbots.org/team/everyday-heroes
<http://moonbots.org/team/everyday-heroes>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve-__EJM7so
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve-__EJM7so>*

Exit 5 Robotics

Livingston NJ

*http://moonbots.org/team/exit-5-robotics
<http://moonbots.org/team/exit-5-robotics>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-i9eRKXy-E
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-i9eRKXy-E>*

Electric Dreams

Erie PA

*http://moonbots.org/team/electric-dreams
<http://moonbots.org/team/electric-dreams>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjlFnVdW0hU
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjlFnVdW0hU>*

Technical Difficulties

Plano TX

*http://moonbots.org/team/technical-difficulties
<http://moonbots.org/team/technical-difficulties>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpsGXdEovJY
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpsGXdEovJY>*



FLL World Festival Teams (International):

*Team*

*Location*

*Team Link*

*Team Video Essay*

Nebulans

Alexandria, Egypt

*http://moonbots.org/team/nebulans <http://moonbots.org/team/nebulans>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzE3NLADQgQ
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzE3NLADQgQ>*

Dutch Delta

Netherlands

*http://moonbots.org/team/dutch-delta
<http://moonbots.org/team/dutch-delta>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYSmmH1_vLQ
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYSmmH1_vLQ>*

Koolbots

Bangalore, India

*http://moonbots.org/team/koolbots <http://moonbots.org/team/koolbots>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9aTscqMjH8
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9aTscqMjH8>*

Aldebarán

Concepción, Chile

*http://moonbots.org/team/aldebarán <http://moonbots.org/team/aldebarán>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUcfm9duIrM
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUcfm9duIrM>*

DragonBots

Chile

*http://moonbots.org/team/dragonbots <http://moonbots.org/team/dragonbots>*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAix61xkEE0
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAix61xkEE0>*



Currently the MRI teams videos are the two most popular in the entire
competition.  They have been viewed thousands of times.  I hope you find
them fun as well.  There are many other great teams.  You can also search
for these teams on YouTube directly or reach them from the Moonbots  teams
page.



Watch and Learn!



Best,

​Nari Narayanan



*---------------------------------------------------------- Anant S
Narayanan Founder & Executive Director*

*McLean Robotics Institute*

* McLean VA 22102 **202-421-3826* <202-421-3826>
* (cell) **[log in to unmask]*
<[log in to unmask]>
* -----------------------------------------------------------*

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