Event: More than 500 elementary and middle school students will compete in engineering challenges in the fourth annual Central Texas FIRST LEGO League Championship Tournament attended by state Sen. Kirk Watson and others.
When: Sunday, Dec. 9. Opening ceremony with the Texas senator will be from 8:30-9:15 a.m.; student teams compete from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Awards will be presented from 4:15-5:30 p.m. Team practice sessions will occur in the school’s cafeteria.
Where: Round Rock High School Gymnasium at 300 N. Lake Creek Dr.
Background: Hundreds of schoolchildren ages nine to 14 from Austin, Dallas, Houston and other cities have worked for months to design, build, program and test LEGO MINDSTORMS robots to compete in the “Power Puzzle” challenge. During the tournament, 60 teams of students will compete in a sports-like atmosphere to perform energy-related activities in front of peers and judges in striped uniforms.
Guided by adult volunteers and imagination, student teams developed robots that accomplish energy management and conservation activities using LEGO building materials. The students will be judged on robot design and teamwork as they navigate their robots on colorful playing boards, based on knowledge gained about conservation and the impact of energy choices. All participants receive medals, and awards will be given for team spirit and other accomplishments.
The tournament is sponsored by 3M, the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, DTEACh, FIRST, HEB, KVUE-TV, Media Event Concepts, National Instruments, Polycom, Silicon Laboratories and SpawGlass. Students from the Central Texas tournament have a chance to attend the 2008 World Festival in Atlanta.
