First Lego League Challenge 2024:

11/23/24. The theme for this year's competition is “SUBMERGED℠.” We studied the impact of microplastics on the ocean and thought of ways we could help resolve this problem. Hoboken is a coastal city located on the Hudson Estuary. Therefore, we conducted several experiments on-site.

HEP 2024 Conference: Working Together for a Thriving Harbor & Estuary. Participants in the Photo Contest.

11/12/24. The NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP) showcased the activities, partnerships, and research that will contribute to its 2025-2035 Action Agenda. The BotCats' photo from its Hoboken Cove clean-up event, Hoboken Plastic Free, was used as the conference image.

We promise to teach young learners about robotics and essential issues.

11/08/24. We organized an activity at our school for the 3rd-grade students to learn about the FLL program and this year's project, which focuses on microplastics in the ocean. At the end of the session, the children participated in a fun quiz game we created using Kahoot!: "How much do you know about microplastics in the ocean?" and a game called "Deep Dive," created using Scratch. At the end, we conducted a survey. It was a great way for them to have fun while learning a lot.

Bio-Foam and Email to Companies:

10/26/24. We created alternative materials to plastics. We emailed companies to invite them to join the efforts to eliminate microplastics. 

Halloween Art Installation:

10/20/24-11/03/24. Halloween Art Installation: We capitalized on the popularity of Halloween in Hoboken to create a campaign with a striking and scary factual message.

Hoboken Plastic Free:

10/06/24. We engage our community to eliminate microplastics and plastics, bring awareness, persuade them to change their consumption behavior and educate them. We co-sponsored a beach clean-up and offered HCS middle school students community service hours. This allowed us to support our school’s commitment to service learning.

Team Expert Interviews:

9/29/24. Noelle Thurlow, MAT, MA Biology (Urban Ecology) Resilience Paddle Sports.

11/5/24. Justin Siddhartha Hayes, Manager of Research and Aquaria at Hudson River Park Trust.

12/3/24.  Patricia Muisener, PhD. Teaching Professor, Associate Chair for Undergraduate Education, Health Professions Advisory Committee, co-Chair Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Stevens Institute of Technology.

First Lego League Challenge 2023:

This year, we are veterans, which makes us better prepared for the upcoming challenges. This year's competition theme is “MASTERPIECE℠.” FIRST LEGO League teams will explore innovative ways to create and communicate art on a global scale. 

We are proud to announce that we received the Champions Award, the highest recognition for our team, and we advanced to the state competition.

First Lego League Challenge 2022:

In our rookie year, we represented Hoboken Charter School at the regional tournament held at Clifton High School in Clifton, NJ. The 2022-23 season theme was “SUPERPOWERED℠,” which focused on creating an innovative project that provides real-world solutions using renewable energy.

Our project involved developing a solar energy solution to power our school building. We aimed to raise awareness about the environmental challenges we face today.

We had to program our robot to complete tasks for the robotics missions, earning points for each well-executed mission. We faced three opponent teams across three rounds.

By the end of the tournament, we improved our standing from 44 competitors to 28th place.