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A demolition/renovation of the one-time home of Phil Knight’s Laika Entertainment studios was recently used to teach a team of child robotics engineers about dealing with trash.

Six students from Stafford Primary School, in West Linn, spent most of the past year preparing for this weekend’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League, an international competition for elementary and middle school students sponsored by the Dutch toymaker.

Once a week they met for several hours at the home of team member Zuzsi Mills, programming their EV3 Lego robots and going over ways to repurpose the pink fiberglass they gathered. The team is one of thousands across the country taking part in this year’s competition. Their project consists of four parts 鈥� core values, robot design, project and a live robot run.

The team spent about 80 hours preparing for this regional competition, said Zuzsi’s father, Anthony Mills, a web programmer. They even had to work out a skit.

The adults haven’t had to get too hands-on with the team, Anthony Mills said.

鈥淎long with robotics, it exposes them to working together in a cooperative environment,鈥� he said.

This year’s theme is dealing with waste, and part of the project involved finding and analyzing ways to handle it. For that, Caleb Beaudin, a project manager at Joseph Hughes Construction and father of team member Nico, offered up use of a Joseph Hughes jobsite in Northwest Portland.

The former studio of Laika Entertainment at Northwest 22nd Avenue and Pettygrove Street is being repurposed as creative office space for client Kensington Investments. A month ago, the kids took a site tour of the active demolition, and were asked to consider the ways waste is handled.

A site like this produces lots of waste 鈥� wood, rubble, insulation, plaster, bricks 鈥� and some can contain harmful substances, while some can be reused. The kids walked away with insulation panels 鈥� itchy, but not asbestos-laden, Beaudin said.

鈥淢ost of the time, fiberglass insulation ends up in the landfill,鈥� he said.

The team decided to mix their fiberglass with epoxy, which creates a solid that can be shaped using molds. They want to use it to make cars and trucks.

Beaudin and his wife, Cindi Vick-Beaudin, built the work table the kids have used.

鈥淚t’s inspiring to see people of such a young age do these things that I can’t even do,鈥� Vick-Beaudin said.

She said her son isn’t the competitive type, so it’s good to see him so invested in a team activity.

鈥淗e’s really clever,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel he has an understanding of things, and is really good at explaining how things work.鈥�

Nico said he likes the competition because it combines several of the things he likes 鈥� Legos, robots, acting and playing with his friends. He said he was optimistic about the team’s chances this weekend.

鈥淚 think we’ll do better than some teams,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to cooperate.鈥�

For a career, Nico said he’d like to be an actor who designs video games in his spare time.

鈥淚 would like to work with my friends,鈥� he said.

The members of team included: Lucas Benson, 10; Rowan Carter, 11; Madeline “Zuzsi” Mills, 11; George Peykanu, 11; Riley Schreiber, 10; and Nicosia “Nico” Vick-Beaudin, 11.