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Grant-writer extraordinaire brings Legos to Boys & Girls Club

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Marisa Hutchinson had a dream of boys and girls building robots out of Legos. So she wrote a grant, something she does a lot when she imagines new projects for the Boys and Girls Club of Gallup.

“I have to constantly write grants, so we can stay open to help the kids,” she told the Sun.

The Legos from one of those grants arrived while she was at the Rio West Mall, in November, helping children with their homework.

In June, the club held a training for the young participants in the project. The First Lego League Robotic Challenge got under way a month later.

Sixteen youngsters were formed into opposing teams, each with a leader.

They chose team names: the Tech Engineer Unicorns and the Copperheads. Then they were given their missions. There were nine of them.

Hutchinson said the construction of the robots took only a matter of days. The programming was harder.

The missions required the young engineers to make their robots do things like dance, or go under a bridge, or get on a treadmill, or push someone down a slide.

Each mission had points assigned to it.

The Tech Engineer Unicorns amassed the most points — 235, for missions involving a bench, a bridge, and a pushbar.

The Copperheads ran into some technical difficulties in programming their robots. They completed three missions and were awarded 191 points.

Hutchinson said all the participants received gift cards and medallions.

“The whole point was to get everybody to participate and learn how to program and to build — to come together as a team and work together as a team,” she said. “They got a pizza party, too.”

Around spring break she is thinking about creating a second Lego league.

For more information contact the Boys & Girls Club of Gallup, 416 W. Princeton Ave., This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (505) 488-2378

By Beth Blakeman
Managing Editor