Coaches Corner: Food Factor Rules Weirdness

It is always fun to run through the rules as a coach to ensure you understand the exact nature of the robot game, where the points are distributed and to ensure any questions from the kids can be answered. We are on a one week break before our next meeting and the team has been emailed the complete project to read prior to our next meeting.

From a coaches perspective here are some of the questions I'll be looking for clarifications to on the FLL Website, or just general odd things with the challenges:

1. Pollution reversal - It seems as though dumping heavy metals and pesticides into the ground and water is counter to the concept of Food Factor. I would have guessed that getting them to base would have been the challenge, or even NOT knocking them off their base into the water or ground and if you did a penalty would have been assessed would have made logical sense.

2.  Distant Travel - This is just an odd challenge.  Go touch a wall.... OK....  I believe the heavy reference to rule 23 in this challenge was really meant the reference rule 22.  I think rule 22 - Touching, is much more relavant than rule 23 - Scoring.

3.  Cooking Time - Our team thinks this would have been a good one for a randomization from the judges.  The judge could have placed the timer at any setting and then the team would have to move it to the red section.  We were happy with this challenge being easier than originally anticipated.

4.  Storage Temperature - The pictures in the challenge, we believe, are different than the original build instructions so it is difficult to know which position will be the "low temperature position".  I'm sure there will be a clarification coming soon on that one.

5.  Hand Wash Bacteria - The scoring on this is somewhat unclear.  Is it 3 points for every bacteria that meet the criteria outlined?

6.  There are NO challenges that deal with the pig / cow / chickens??? - This is just odd

7.  The 400 points are no longer - There seems to be a lot of room for points and types of scoring.  I can foresee a lot of time scoring in counting the bacteria.  This will be interesting.  I'm also surprised that the 400 point "perfect score" is gone and we are well beyond 400 points in potential scores.  This could bring more exicitement.

Looking forward to the next few weeks.
Have fun building!

Team Member Posting - Cholera and Chickens... COOL!

A one-celled organism called cholera could kill your chickens in one day. Louis Pasteur went on his yearly vacation. When he returned to work, his assistants didn’t read the labels on the bottles of cholera bacteria. They handed him older bacteria and Pasteur gave it to the chickens he was experimenting. Pasteur expected them to die, but the chickens got mildly sick and were perfectly well the next day. Pasteur had discovered the vaccine for cholera. The chickens had immunity because their bodies had already developed antibodies from the weak bacteria. Farmers and other people were free of losing their livelihood due to cholera because of Louis Pasteur.