Ian wants an EV3

 Ian had his first meeting with his First Lego League team today. They don't even have the EV3 (They haven't been released yet) but they do have the mat or board that the group is going to be working on.  This years theme is Nature's Fury. This means it has something to do with a Natural Disaster.

When I picked Ian up from his meeting with their coach he said the board looks like they are supposed to be cleaning up after a disaster of some sort. Evidently the team coach was sent the board and props but no EV3 and no official challenge yet. I guess it doesn't officially start for a few more weeks but the boys are getting a jump start on planning what they think the scenario may be.

After the meeting Ian is also more and more convinced that he needs and EV3. Last Summer the kids pitched in all their hard earned money and bought an NXT 2.0. Ian has LOVED this but in January found out that Lego was coming out with a newer version. Isn't this the story of our lives. As soon as we buy something it is already out of date. So the $280 set is now old school and he wants the latest model. It is what they will be using for their challenge but the $350 price tag means it isn't making its way to our house any time really soon.

I hope he isn't disappointed that he only has the NXT at home. Perhaps the price of the sensors and parts for his out of date one will come down now that a newer version is coming out.

Ian is also pretty young in his group. As we were meeting the other boys and their Mothers I could tell Ian, at only 9 years old, is by far the youngest in the group. Most of the group are 12-13.  I asked him about it after the meeting. I wanted to know if he felt like he was less knowledgeable or if they made him feel like he was out of their league but he said it went fine. I guess the coach, who set up the group, knew what he was doing when he invited Ian to be a part of the team. It is something Ian loves doing and now he gets to put his robotics play time to work on a challenge. It should be a fun adventure for him.