FIRST LEGO League Newfoundland & Labrador (FLL-NL) is an innovative program whereby intermediate school age youth (ages 11 – 14) are introduced to intriguing applications of science and technology. The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) (www.firstlegoleague.org) was first established in the USA in 1998, and Newfoundland & Labrador (www.fllnl.org) was the first province in Canada to adopt the FIRST LEGO League program in 2002. (FIRSTTM : Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
The FLL-NL mission is to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in the field of science, technology and engineering. This achieved primarily through running robotics competitions for school-age students at the intermediate school level. The FIRST LEGO League program introduces students to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FLL teams, guided by their imaginations and adult coaches, discover exciting career possibilities and, through the process, learn to make positive contributions to society. Each year in August, FIRST LEGO League introduces a scientific and real-world challenge for teams to focus and research.
Bricks 4 Kidz® has been actively involved with FLL-NL for many years. In 2014, Bricks 4 Kidz, FLL-NL, and MUN brought LEGO Robotics Engineer, Daniele Benedettelli to St. John’s to give public demonstrations and training of the new LEGO® Mindstorms® EV3 Robotics System. Bricks 4 Kidz is a Gold Sponsor of the annual NL Kids Expo and this year we brought in FLL-NL to join us next to our booth to demonstrate LEGO®robots and the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition.
This year’s FIRST LEGO League theme was “ANIMAL ALLIESSM“, and it was all about our furry, feathered, and finned friends. Teams look into the eyes of our ANIMAL ALLIES. What might become possible when we learn to help each other? Details about this year’s challenge may be found at: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge. This year, the FLL-NL tournament attracted 17 school teams (students and mentors), plus parents, teachers, school administrators, corporate, university and government officials, who serve as judges.
Bricks 4 Kidz was happy to contribute to the Core Values part of the competition as teams demonstrated their teamwork and cooperation in building a bridge over a span that could withstand the weight of various hockey pucks. All teams performed very well.
Winners of the FIRST LEGO League (FLL-NL) Robotics Competition were:.
1st PLACE – Our Lady of Mercy Elementary
2nd PLACE – Lakecrest Independent School Team 2
3rd PLACE – Jakeman All-Grade
If you have any questions related to FIRST LEGO League robotics competition or Bricks 4 Kidz email Kelly Noseworthy at [email protected] or call at 728-4489.