EAST LANSING, Mich. — Elementary and middle school students will be building Lego robots capable of performing specific tasks as part of Michigan State University’s FIRST Lego League qualifying tournament at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10.
The 2007 challenge is Power Puzzle; the theme is Energy Resources – Meeting the Global Demand. With the help of Lego Mindstorm Robotics Invention System kits, the students learn engineering and computer programming principles as they design, build and program fully autonomous robots. The kits contain bricks, motors, sensors, gears and software.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a multinational, nonprofit organization that aspires to transform culture, making science, math, engineering and technology as cool for kids as sports are today. The FIRST Lego League is the result of a partnership between FIRST and Lego.
"The Shell SITES grant continues to provide great opportunities for MSU's College of Engineering to partner with area schools to motivate young people interested in science and engineering,” said Drew Kim, assistant to the dean for recruitment and K-12 outreach for the College of Engineering. “It is wonderful to see engineering students, teachers, school administrators and parents all working collaboratively to enhance the students’ understanding of engineering fields while having fun."
The competition will be held at the IM Circle, the intramural sports building at the corner of West Circle Drive and Kalamazoo Street. More than 150 students will compete in teams of seven to10. Qualifying teams will advance to the Genesee County/Flint Championship state tournament on Dec.15.
Lego robots will be required to perform various “missions,” involving Lego models of a hydrogen car, a truck, a solar power satellite panel and corn. Points are awarded for successfully completing specific tasks.
MSU’s FIRST Lego League teams are supported by a grant from Shell Oil Co. through the Shell SITES (Students Interested in Technology, Engineering and Science) Program.
To learn more about FIRST and FIRST Lego League, go to www.usfirst.org/jrobtcs/flego.htm. For more about this year’s competition, visit www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=29550.
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