UPDATE 1 – ANIMAL KINGDOM
Clarification of Animal Definition
The Challenge defines an animal as “any member of the scientific animal kingdom (besides humans) that is currently alive today.” Depending on where you live, you may have learned about either five or six kingdoms used in biology to classify all life on earth. Wherever you are in the world, you must choose an animal from Animalia (the animal kingdom). Living things from the following kingdoms would NOT be considered “animals” for ANIMAL ALLIESSM: Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaea/Archaeabacteria, Bacteria/ Eubacteria, or Monera. You can refer to biology sites like this one for definitions of each kingdom: http://www.ric.edu/faculty/ptiskus/six_kingdoms/.
UPDATE 2 – DEFINITION OF INTERACT
Clarification of Problem Identification Requirements
The Project asks each team to “pick a situation when people and animals interact.” The person does not need to physically touch the animal, but the person must clearly affect the animal or the animal must clearly affect the person to be an appropriate interaction for ANIMAL ALLIESSM. For example, if a person puts food in a bowl, and the animal eats the food, then the person has affected the animal.
UPDATE 3 – LIVE ANIMALS
Disclaimer
The ANIMAL ALLIESSM Challenge asks you to learn about the ways that people and animals interact. We do NOT require teams to interact directly with any animal during this research. Any team that chooses to work with live animals should do so ONLY under the supervision of a trained adult professional. If your team chooses to work with an animal, we strongly recommend that you do NOT bring this animal to any FIRST® LEGO® League event. Your event may have an official policy on this subject – check before you attend.