On May 21, 2016, thirty Junior FIRST LEGO League teams come to the 7th Annual LRC Jr.FLL Expo. Children ages 6-9 from across northern New Jersey showcased their “Waste Wise” research projects on the topics of waste management. Many teams used LEGO WeDo and LEGO EV3 robotics kits as part of their model creation.

At the Expo, Exit 5A Robotics, and all-girl FIRST LEGO League team of LRC gave demonstrations of “Trash Trek” missions. They also ran a robot vs. radio-controlled car. Another all-girl LRC team, Exit 5 Robotics let children play with their VEX robot.

This year’s theme activities were related to waste management technology. Team A.I.R., a member of LRC, had the public debut of their Artificial Intelligence Recycler (A.I.R) machine. The team is a semi-finalist of the FLL Global Innovation Award competition to be on June 20-22 at the headquarters of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Additionally, Blue Diamond Disposal brought their latest green garbage truck. Each Jr.FLL participant was able to operate truck’s robotic arm to grab and lift a trash bin.

The event was co-hosted by Spongebot (Team A.I.R.) and Exit 5A Robotics, sponsored by St. Barnabas Medical Center. More information can be found on the event page here.