The deadline for registration is closing in for people, age 9 through 17, interested in building “moonbots” for Google’s Lunar XPrize Lego Mindstorms Challenge. The final day for initial registration is 15 May at 11.59.59PM PST.
The challenge has two phases. The first is fairly simple, requiring a team video that answers the question “Why should we go Back to the Moon for Good?” 25 teams will be selected from that phase and will receive some generous prizes, listed on this part of the Moonbots 2014 website.
As you peruse the prize list, you’ll probably have noticed the prizes for the second phase. So how do you get those? Easy–design your own “game play” (their words) for the moonbots. The big prize flies the winners to Hawaii.
Overall, not a bad deal. Kids get to draw a Luna Lego logo. Kids get to play with Lego robots. Kids get to make videos of their Lego robots moving around doing various interesting things on a Lego moonscape. And then there’s the possibility of enjoying Hawaii.
Are you the parent of a child who enjoys this sort of thing? Then encourage them to participate in the challenge. If only because a parent or guardian of the team member will also be allowed to go to Hawaii. My parents never told me playing with Legos would pay off one day…
The Mad Spaceball 