Event: Elementary and middle school students compete in the third annual Central Texas FIRST LEGO League Championship Tournament at The University of Texas at Austin.
When: Saturday, Jan. 6, from 8:45 a.m-3:30 p.m.
Student teams will be judged from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. with a lunch break from noon-1 p.m. Awards will be presented from 2:30-3:15 p.m.
Where: The Bates Recital Hall on The University of Texas at Austin campus at the corner of Trinity Street and Robert Dedman Drive. Parking for media is reserved on Dedman Drive. For a map, visit: www.utexas.edu/maps.
Background: More than 300 schoolchildren ages 9 to 14 from Austin and nearby cities have worked for months to design, build, program and test LEGO MINDSTORMS robots to compete in the Nano Quest Challenge. During the tournament, teams of students will take the stage at Bates Recital Hall to compete, head to head, and perform nano-related tasks in front of judges and their peers. The teams, which have been guided by adult volunteers, will also be judged on the design of their robots, teamwork and on a project completed in previous months about new or modified applications they have envisioned for nanotechnology. All participants will receive medals, and awards will be given for team spirit and other accomplishments.
The tournament is hosted by National Instruments, Silicon Laboratories Inc. and the College of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. It is designed to teach children teamwork skills and increase their interest in exploring issues through research and robotic programming. The Central Texas tournament is part of the 2006 First LEGO League Nano Quest Challenge occurring internationally, which involves 80,000 students.
To learn more about the local FIRST LEGO League Tournament, go to: www.centraltexasfll.org/
