WSU Hosts FIRST LEGO League Utah North State Championship
OGDEN, Utah – Teams of students grades 4-8 from across the northern region of Utah will compete at the FIRST® LEGO® League Utah North State Championship at Weber State University, Feb. 2 from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Shepherd Union Ballrooms. The competition is hosted by the College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology.
Teams will compete in a robot-design challenge and a project challenge for the opportunity to win awards and tickets to the LEGOLAND invitational in Carlsbad, California. At the start of the FIRST LEGO League season, 274 teams competed to attend one of two championships; 72 were eventually selected.
“This FIRST competition experience is exciting and valuable for kids because they learn skills to use throughout life,” said Dana Dellinger, Center for Technology Outreach director. “Competing in the state championship will give kids an opportunity to learn how to perform under pressure and present projects in clear and interesting ways with professionalism and good sportsmanship.”
For the robot challenge, teams will build and program a robot to solve tricky problems autonomously. Students will be expected to show judges what programming they used for the robot and how they came up with design plans. The robot’s skills will be put to the test in the robot games.
This year’s theme, “Into Orbit,” is inspired by NASA’s preparations for future manned deep-space missions, including a mission to Mars. For the project challenge, each team will research a human physical or social problem faced during long-duration space exploration and come up with a solution to present to judges.
More information about the FIRST LEGO League can be found at weber.edu/first/fll.
About FIRST
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is recognized as the leading, non-profit STEM engagement program for kids worldwide. FIRST’s goal is to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology while encouraging them to consider education and careers in STEM fields. FIRST engages participants in mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, to inspire interest in science and technology. For more information, visit firstinspires.org.
For photos of a previous event, visit the following links.
Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
Ross Rosier, Office of Marketing & Communications
801-626-7948 • rossrosier@weber.edu- Contact:
Dana Dellinger, Center for Technology Outreach director
College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology
801-626-7552 • danadellinger@weber.edu