Lego League Challenge bringing creativity and STEM to ECC Feb. 14
Creativity and science will come together on Saturday, Feb. 14, at the FIRST Lego League Challenge Illinois State Championship at Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin
Fifty-six teams of 9- to 14-year-old students and their coaches will demonstrate problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play, sportsmanship, and sense of community.
The tournament is open to the public. The robot table competition portion of the event starts at noon.
More than 650,000 students in over 75 countries will participate in the FIRST “Unearthed” season. Teams will have to program robots, using Lego Education technology, to solve a set of missions on an obstacle course set on a thematic playing surface.
For the “Unearthed” Challenge, students will unearth hidden treasures and piece together the past as they embark on this thrilling journey of discovery.
Students will identify and research a problem related to the season theme and then design and create a possible solution. They also will identify a mission strategy and design, create, and code a robot to complete missions during a 2.5-minute Robot Game.
The competition is judged in three areas: Innovation Project; Robot Design, and Core Values, which embody aspects of teamwork and good sportsmanship. Top robot game scores are also honored.
FIRST Lego League is an international program for 9- to 14-year-olds (ages vary by country) created in a partnership between FIRST and the Lego Group in 1998 to get students excited about science and technology — and teach them valuable career and life skills.
Using Lego Education technologies and materials, students work alongside adult mentors to design, build, and program autonomous robots and create an innovative solution to a problem as part of their research project.
After several intense weeks, the competition season culminates at high-energy, sports-like tournaments. Like any other organized “sport,” teams also fundraise, create a team identity, and go on field trips.
The tournament is being run by FIRST Illinois Robotics, a 501(c)3 organization focused on delivering FIRST programs in Illinois. For details on the event, go to firstillinoisrobotics.org/fll-challenge/events/season-events/.
About FIRST
FIRST is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (pre-kindergarten to 12th grade) that can be facilitated in school, in structured after-school programs or by other organizations or groups of parents.
Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges.
An international not-for-profit organization founded in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Participants and alumni of FIRST programs gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life. Learn more at firstinspires.org.