ST. GEORGE – Teams of middle school students will compete against each other in a series of challenges involving Lego-built robots this Saturday.
Washington County members of the Utah First Lego League will be holding a series of qualifying events at the Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School on Jan. 7. The events will involve special Lego robots built and programmed by the teams to perform specific tasks.
Teams that qualify at the event will go to the state-level competition held in Salt Lake City on Jan. 28.
Paul Hill, an associate professor with the Utah State University Extension, said there are currently seven teams in Washington County that will be competing on Saturday.
Hill remarked the Lego League had become increasingly popular since news about the local event began to spread last fall.
“It’s gone great,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of people actually call and want to start their own tech teams.”
Three teams recently started in Hurricane, he said.
A special team composed of deaf-students has also been created.
The qualifying event will be held Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School – 3167 S 2350 E in St. George – from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan 7. Spectators are free to observe from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
The event is sponsored by the USU Extension 4-H Club, the University of Utah Graduate Center and the Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School.
The First Lego League is a part of an international competition aimed at elementary and middle school students between 9 and 14 years old. It is designed to promote teamwork and creative problem solving, as well as learning about programming, robotics and other aspects of science and technology.
The University of Utah officially brought the Lego League competition to Utah in 2011.
Anyone interested in the First Lego League can contact Paul Hill at the USU Extension 4-H Office at (435) 634-5706. The USU Extension is located at 44 N. 100 E. St. George.
Copyright 2011 St. George News. This material may not be published or rewritten without written consent