WESTFORD — A love of LEGO has spurred a group of Westford fifth graders to study and explore one major issue with area beaches and ponds.
Six elementary school students were tasked with exploring bodies of water and solving issues facing the ecosystem. This year, the ‘Geared-up Gorillas,’ among one of 18 teams in Westford, focused on algal blooms in area bodies of water.
“We found algae blooms interesting and wanted to know more about it,” Prachet Mukkala, a fifth-grade student at Abbot Elementary School, said.
At least one pond in Westford has been treated for nuisance algae since 2022, including Heart Pond in 2022 and 2023, as well as Nabnasset Lake and Long Sought For Pond in 2024, which students said was the inspiration for their project.
“Algal bloom can release harmful toxins and can stop sunlight from entering water,” he continued.
The students said that they spoke with town Conservation Resource Planner Matthew Salem, as well as graduate students in Florida to learn more about the topic.
They aimed to experiment on algae during the school year but noted they were unsuccessful after the change in the season.
“We were going to put algae in different environments, like cold temperatures, warm temperatures, in the sum and add different materials like chlorine,” Aadi Lunavat, a fifth-grade student from Abbot Elementary School said.
At their state competition in December, students will be tasked with presenting their findings, as well as competing in a competition with LEGO.
This year’s challenge encompasses 14 mission models, in which students create autonomous robotic LEGO builds that can complete each task. Some tasks include raising pieces and moving pieces into designated zones on the table within two and a half minutes.
“How our robot is designed goes into it,” Prachet said. “Sometimes it runs over items and sometimes it runs off course. But it’s fun, it’s LEGO.”
During the team’s first year in 2023, they were within the top 10 in their division statewide.
“[It’s fun], we get trophies,” Aadi said.
The students are scheduled to compete against other area teams in early December.
