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There's no stopping them! The Nano Ninjas march on to the Super-Regionals after winning the THINK award for their engineering notebook!

In January we reported on the Nano Ninjas building robots, an all-girls group of 7th and 8th graders competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge and used Overleaf to create their engineering notebook to record their team and robot's journey throughout the season.

We then followed up on that to report their success in winning the Connect Award in their Super Qualifier...and now we're following up on that to report their success in winning the THINK award for their amazing documentation of their team's journey!! Not only is this a fantastic achievement in its own right, it also books them a place in FTC West Super-Regional round! They're on a winning streak!

We're especially proud to have helped support the Nano Ninja's in their robot escapades, and this award is a great reward for all the effort they've put into their 300-page (!!) notebook. It's also a testament to their desire to learn and use a tool such as Overleaf to produce it to a professional level. Here are more details of the award and photos from the event, provided by Nixon Xavier (their team coach).

Removing engineering obstacles through creative thinking - the THINK award

This judged award is given to the team that best reflects the journey the team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season. The Engineering Section of the notebook is the key reference for judges to help identify the most deserving team, and should focus on the design and build stage of the team’s robot. Journal entries should include those describing the underlying science and mathematics of the robot design and game strategies, the designs, re-designs, successes, and those interesting moments when things weren’t going as planned.

• The Engineering Notebook must demonstrate that the team has a clear understanding of the engineering design process, with pictures or drawings and details documenting all stages of robot design.
• The Notebook must recount the team’s journey, experience and lessons learned throughout the season.
• The Engineering Notebook must include entries describing underlying science, mathematics, and game strategies.

The winning team must also demonstrate respect and professionalism toward at the FTC events.

"A million thanks to the Overleaf team for all your support and encouragement you have provided to Nano Ninjas " – Nixon Xavier, Nano Ninja Team Coach

Read more about the team and their robot's journey here, and about their earlier wins here!

Setting up the Nano Ninja display!

The Nano Ninja robot in action!

Things didn't always go to plan...

...but the team triumphed in the end, taking home the THINK award and advancing to the Super-Regionals!

All photos provided by Nixon Xavier, Nano Ninjas Team Coach. All rights reserved.