Unionville-Chadds Ford Elementary Students Use Yoga Mats to Solve Problem for Pigs

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Photo courtesy of Penn Vet's New Bolton Center.

new boltonYoung members of the “Robotic Waffles” team, which consisted of students from Hillendale and Pocopson elementary schools in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, took part in this year’s FIRST LEGO League, writes Louisa Shepard for Penn Vet.

FIRST LEGO League, an international competition that incorporates STEM applications, issues an annual challenge based on a real-world scientific topic, and this year’s task was Animal Allies.

The challenge required that teams design a solution to a real-world problem involving animals, and have it evaluated by a panel of judges. The fourth- and fifth-graders who all live near Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square decided to take advantage of the facility’s Swine Teaching and Research Center to help.

During their first visit, students asked numerous questions about the Swine Center’s alternative housing model. On their second visit, the young team presented its solution for the issue of slatted flooring, where the pig’s hooves sometimes get stuck.

Their solution? Yoga mats to cover the slats.

“I wish all pigs could walk on yoga mats,” said student Daniel Palahunik. “It could help with lameness problems.”

Read more about the FIRST LEGO League at Penn Vet here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of the New Bolton Center here.

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