As engineers we learn that a closed-loop system is almost always better than an open-loop system, but in practice we often fall short of getting the crucial feedback needed to correctly fine tune our final product or presentation.

Is is easy to feel that the FLL requirement to share your project with your community is a burden.  Many teams fail to make it a priority and fall short of doing this in time for their qualifying tournament.  Unfortunately, this is one of the non-negotiable requirements for receiving a project award, so skipping it dramatically reduces your odds of getting ranked in Project.  But this is not my primary argument.

My argument for sharing with the community is that this engagement could be MORE impactful to your team members than the actual competition.  This is when they get the undivided attention of professionals, they won't be hurried to fit into a 5 minute window, and they actual are held accountable to the research that they have worked hard all season to complete.

Kids tend to go through the motions of doing a project when they think it will get thrown away, but the knowledge that they have to actually explain their solution to someone who is interested in hearing it and could potentially poke holes into it can be a game changer.  So don't skip this part because it's too hard.  It might be the most memorable part of your season where the kids have fun sharing their work without the stress of competition day.

Below is my son's team the week before their qualifier event.

It's great to see a talkative group of kids that can still show respect for each other as they promote each other as well as their team.  I love the spontaneous kid who started humming the Jeopardy theme song when Binh had a problem coming up with another question.
I was amazed at the questions that Binh, my 12-year-old son, choose to ask this team.  These are the same questions that rookie coaches ask that go unanswered.  Perhaps he has a future career in journalism (though he should possibly leave the videography to someone else).  Make sure you watch the video to hear some great answers to the following questions: (or should I say great questions to the following answers?)

• How did you practice the presentation?
• How long did it take you to make all of your props?
• How did you even start thinking about the problem you wanted to solve?
• When you started working on the project, how did you meet?
• There are a lot of you, how did you all listen to each other?

​I was delighted to hear at the award ceremony that the Python Slayers took home the 1st place Champions Award.  And I was able to capture this treasured moment of them to take home with me so that I could share with you.