Cloverleaf Elementary School is home to the Brains-n-Bots Lego Teams. The group began in 2006 with four coaches and two teams. In 2007, the group grew to three teams! There were also three teams in 2008.

In the spring of each year, students in grades 2 through 4 are invited to apply to be a part of the Cloverleaf Lego Club (space for 2nd graders is very limited). One of the group's first tasks is to take a big trip to the Georgia Dome and World Congress Center in Atlanta for the World Festival Competition for FIRST Lego League, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the FIRST Robotics Challenge. This group meets after school several times in the spring and a few times in the fall. During these meetings, students learn basic programming for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robot. The group also begins researching the science or technical theme for the year. The theme for 2009 is Smart Moves: Transforming Transportation.

The Brains-n-Bots Lego Teams requires a significant time commitment. Students will be selected from the Lego Club to be a part of the Brains-n-Bots Lego Teams.

In September, the Brains-n-Bots Lego Teams will meet once a week after school. In October and November, the group will meet two times per week. There will also be at least one Saturday practice and one Saturday scrimmate. The group will continue to meet twice a week in December up until the regional competition. The top teams from the regional competition will advance to a Super Regional Competition in January. The top teams from the super regional competition will advance to the State Competition at Georgia Tech in February. The top team from the State Competition may advance to the World Festival Competition in April.

The Brains-n-Bots Lego Teams participate in a variety of activities in preparation for the regional competitions. The teams must build LEGO mission models to be placed on the competition table. Next, the teams will build and program a LEGO Mindstorms NXT robot that will interact with the mission models and perform specific tasks within a time limit of 2.5 minutes. In addition to the robotics component, there's also a research assignment. We will receive more specifics about the research in September, but for now, we know we will be learning about the global climate. Ultimately, each team will have to prepare a research presentation to share with the community and the judges. At competitions, we will be judged on robot performance, technical knowledge (programming), research presentation, and team work!

If you are interested in participating in the Lego Club, please see Miss Morrow for an application. Requirements include: excellent attendance; good grades; good behavior; and teacher recommendation. Students will have to complete a research poster and the application.