East Cobb TECH Tigers earn team award at 2026 FIRST LEGO

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East Cobb TECH Tigers earn team award at 2026 FIRST LEGO

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Six young students from East Cobb represented Georgia at the 2026 FIRST LEGO League Explore World Festival in Houston, Texas, and returned home with the Team Model Award. The festival was held April 29 through May 2 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston as part of the 2026 FIRST Championship.

The annual event brings together student robotics teams from around the world to celebrate STEM learning, engineering design and teamwork. The East Cobb team, known as the TECH Tigers, competed on May 1 and received the Team Model Award during the official awards ceremony on May 2.

The TECH Tigers were the only FIRST LEGO League Explore team from Georgia selected to participate in this year’s World Festival. The team includes six students, ages 8 to 9, and is coached by Coach Hong and Coach Liu.

Team members:

  • Jonathan Ying (3rd grade, Mt Bethel Elementary School)
  • Nathan Bai (East Side Elementary School 3rd grade)
  • Haozhong Deng Sope Creek Elementary School, 3rd grade）
  • Christina Wen （Sope Creek Elementary School, 3rd grade
  • Pierce Liu (East Side Elementary School, 3rd grade)
  • Noah Regan (International Charter School of Atlanta, 2nd grade)

This season’s FIRST LEGO League challenge focused on archaeology. For their project, the TECH Tigers created an original story about a group of explorers who discover dinosaur fossils and work together to excavate, protect and transport the remains. They also included modern technology and clean-energy ideas to make the fieldwork safer, smarter and more efficient. During the judging session, the TECH Tigers explained their story, demonstrated how their model worked, and described each team member’s role in the project. The Team Model Award recognized the students’ model design, presentation and teamwork.

“The students were competing in an international competition for the first time, and we never expected them to perform so well,” Coach Hong said. For the TECH Tigers, the trip to Houston was more than a competition. It gave the students a chance to present their ideas, meet teams from other countries and see how science, engineering and creativity can come together through LEGO robotics. After returning from Houston, the team hopes their experience will encourage more local children to explore robotics, engineering and hands-on STEM learning.

East Cobb TECH Tigers earn team award at 2026 FIRST LEGO

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