3:47 p.m. - The Blanks, a group of sixth-graders from Robert Miller Elementary School learned that building a robot not only teachs them about engineering technology, but valuable lessons in life.

Last month The Blanks competed against 12 other teams from across the state to take home the first-place trophy from the North Dakota First Lego League Robotics Tournament. The teams were not only judged on their robot's performance, but the theme of the tournament, "No Limits."

The "No Limits" theme stems from the idea that robots can be a part of every day life to allow people with special needs to become more independent. For example, the students were required to design a robot that could pick up items and return them to a designated location, push chairs under a table and open a door.

Coach Vivian Meiers said that the school is very inclusive to children with special needs, and The Blanks agreed.

"A lot of kids say that they include kids with special needs, but they are only pretending to," said team member Taylor Wrege. "This project can demonstrate what some of their needs are and help kids that don't have special needs understand them."

Even though the group has a strong understanding of the tournament's theme, they did not think their robot was advanced enough to win first place.

"I didn't think that we were as prepared as the other teams," said Andrew Roehl. "I didn't know if we had the best idea (for a robot), or if our batteries were going to be an issue."

Team member Christina Perleberg chipped in to explain why they called themselves The Blanks, "We were blank about everything, from other kids' special needs and how they felt and we were blank about engineering and the technology it used."

However, four engineering students from Bismarck State College, Ted Wald, Curtis Reule, Brian Gross and Dave Peterson and Bismarck High School student Aston Wilson, worked with the group to design a robot they could be proud of.

"If I could sum-up this group in one word, it would be tenacity," Meiers said. "Not one person gave up, there were definitely some ups and downs within the group because they are all leaders, but it worked itself out. Even the judges commented on how great the team worked together to problem solve."

Judging also was based on how well the teams produced a five-minute movie including special effects and sound. The Blanks incorporated trial and error clips of the robot in its early stages. Also the team asked a teacher questions about special needs children to educate their audience. At the end of the movie each team member stated why and how they thought their robot could impact somebody's life.

Overall judging consisted of 25 percent from the robot's design, robot's performance, research and teamwork. The remaining 75 percent of the scoring was based on teamwork, upholding Lego League values and the robot's ability to present the "No Limits" theme.

The Blanks also took second place in the robot performance category. Other teammates are Todd Splonskowski, Cody Fried, Matthew Kessler and Alex Mantz

(Reach Kayla Cogdill at 250-8251)