Spaghetti Feed fundraiser brings Banana Botz closer to Boston

Teeland Middle School’s robotics team, the Banana Botz, were working on more than robotics this past Sunday as they served spaghetti and desserts to raise funds, all in an effort to attend the First Lego League (FLL) US Open in Boston this summer. There, the Banana Botz will join 95 other teams from all over the world.

The FLL US Open will feature 5 official robot matches, with plenty of practice opportunities, and will have a 45-minute judging session per team, where the judges will look at innovation, robot design, and Q and A sessions.

The Banana Botz are fresh off of winning a grant from Mid-Valley Recycling for the youth category for their presentation of Eco Bricks, recycled containers with net zero features such as air source heat pumps and insulation from refrigerated containers.

Wesley Quimby, a seventh grader on the team, said the group brainstormed the idea during one of their practices.

“It would be quite cheap, actually, for the containers because there’s over 6 million containers not being used by shipping industries,” Quimby stated. “It’s definitely important for our future to have a net-zero world.”

Sporting their trademark banana hats, the team members helped out, passing out desserts and cleaning after guests had enjoyed their dinner.

The Spaghetti Feed and Silent Auction fundraiser was held at Settlers Bay Lodge in Wasilla.

“Settler’s Bay was super gracious and they donated the room use,” said Sara Michaud, who said that the food donations came from Maple Springs and Kids Kupboard. Her son is a member of the Banana Botz team.

“The boys have been trying to fundraise through a variety of different ways,” said Michaud, adding that one boy has been selling banana bread to help out.

Friendly competition is at the heart of what the Banana Botz are doing, as the team engages in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering - building and programming a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game.

While robotics is a huge component of the competition, there is also innovation, and the team had to develop something “green.” The Banana Botz decided to take on the problem of reducing the amount of fossil fuels emitted, as 21% of the global carbon output comes from residential housing.

Their solution? Focus on making houses more eco-friendly by re-purposing refrigerator containers into prefab, modular, self-sustainable homes “The Extreme Eco-Brick.” The hope is to have developers utilize this to create apartment complexes in urban areas that experience colder climates, as well as housing units for people who work in canneries, mines, and perhaps even the North Slope.

The units would have features such as air source heat pumps, solar panels, HRV systems, and rainwater harvesting systems.

Their innovation project already earned them the top prize from Mid Valley Recycling, and the team came in tied for second during their robot games, the Banana Botz are excited to take their project to the lower 48 and show the world what they are capable of doing. The team is already planning for next year and hoping to attend the world championships.

For more information about the Banana Botz, or would like to make a donation, please visit TMS Banana Botz www.matsuk12.us