165 schools competing in 8th Annual FIRST Lego League Robotics Championship

More than 1,700 students from public, public charter, independent and home schools plus some independent youth groups, will be deploying their computer-controlled robots, built from Lego elements and programmed to perform specific tasks, at district qualifying competitions on Saturday, Nov. 3 and 10 and Monday, Nov. 12 at various locations on all major islands.

Top teams from these district qualifying tournaments will advance to the 8th Annual Hawaii FIRST Lego League (FLL) Championship, a free event open to the public, to be held on Dec. 1 in Honolulu at the Neal S. Blaisdell (NBC) Center.

Hawaii FLL is the local chapter of the international FIRST Lego League and has been promoting FLL in Hawaii since 2003. FIRST Lego League, now a global program, was founded in 1998 by Dean Kamen, an inventor and entrepreneur, who joined forces with Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, owner and deputy chairman of the Lego Group to create a program that engages younger learners in playful and meaningful experience while helping them to discover the fun and challenge of science and technology. With more than 20,000 teams from some 60 countries in the program, FIRST Lego League is constantly expanding.

This year, Hawaii has over 170 teams, each with students between the ages of nine to 14. Fourteen percent of the teams are new to the competition; and approximately 55 percent of the participants are boys and 45 percent are girls. The teams build and program a Lego robot that will run through a maze and score points during match competition. They also apply science, math, engineering and technology to focus on real-life problems. This season, the focus is on developing ways to help the elderly access and navigate while remaining independent.

Teams interviewed seniors to gain knowledge about their concerns, completed research, design and possible prototypes, and will present their ideas to judges in closed door interviews during the district metes. Past solutions included food safety, climate changes, power sustainability, use of nanotechnology and more.

District winners-48 top teams from across the states-will compete to become 2012 Hawaii FLL Champions at the 8th Annual Hawaii FIRST Lego League Championship, a whole-day event on Dec. 1 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. On that day, six to nine year old students will also be displaying their Lego creations at a companion event, the 4th Annual Jr. FLL EXPO. Both events are open to the public. Come early for the Jr. FLL EXPO between 9 – 11 a.m. and stay for the FLL Robot Competition Matches and the FLL awards ceremony.