By Pamela Dodson

Staff Reporter

pdodson@thepccourier.com

R.C. Edwards’ Cyber Panthers Lego Club pictured, top row, from left, are Carson Haynes, Brantson Lamneck, Jay Ellis and Nolen Schnabel. Second row: John Li, Will Boggs and TraVon Lay.
Third row: Mason Lewis, Zac Wood and Heather Falkner.
Fourth row: Aaron Lamneck, Patrick Wilmott, Israel Dodson and Andrew Corbett. The team is led by volunteer coaches Kyle Corbett, Holly Corbett and Melinda Boggs to help manage the afterschool program

CENTRAL — The R.C. Edwards Middle School Cyber Panthers competed in the FIRST LEGO League Robotics regional tournament Jan. 16 in Seneca.

The group took first place out of the 25 teams entered. Winning the tournament sent the team on its way to the state finals.

The teams were challenged to practice imaginative thinking and teamwork. Guided by adult coaches, FIRST LEGO League teams research a real-world problem such as food safety, recycling, energy, etc., and are challenged to develop a solution.

The competitors must design, build and program a robot using LEGO Mindstorms technology, then compete on a table-top playing field.
It all adds up to tons of fun while they learn to apply science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts, plus a big dose of imagination, to solve a problem.

Along their discovery journey, they develop critical thinking and team-building skills, basic STEM applications and even presentation skills, as they must present their solutions with a dash of creativity to judges. They also practice the program’s signature core values.

In 2016, approximately 29,000 teams from 80 countries will compete in 1,350 events around the world.

The Cyber Panthers joined other teams for the Western South Carolina State Finals on Feb. 6 at Easley High School. Only one team advances, and although the Cyber Panthers weren’t that team, they still finished 20th out of 56 teams, which is in the top third of a very competitive tournament.

The team was led by coaches Kyle Corbett, Holly Corbett and Melinda Boggs.