ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Four teams from the Rochester City School District will be getting their build on at the regional FIRST LEGO League Tournament next month.
FIRST LEGO League is an international initiative that introduces STEM — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — to kids through building with Legos. By creating complex machines out of Legos, kids get the chance to learn coding, critical thinking skills, and design techniques at an early age.
The program has three tiers separated by age, with over 1200 teams in New York State alone.
Teams at the following schools will be heading out to Buffalo:
- Anna Murray-Douglass Academy School No. 12
- Enrico Fermi School No. 17
- Abelard Reynolds School No. 42
- Wilson Foundation Academy
At that regional tournament, kids will be building and programming robots to complete as many objectives as possible within a designated time limit.
At Enrico Fermi School No. 17, their two teams both won awards.
The fourth grade team will be heading to Buffalo to compete in the regional tournament in February. Their fifth-graders will be competing in Irondequoit.
“Everything matters when they get out of high school and they have to work as teams in organizations and so early as fourth grade, they work together to learn how each other think and work on projects together, so that’s pretty much what it’s all about,” said LEGO coach Tanya Homer of School No. 17.
Other awards include the Engineering Excellence Award for kids from Wilson Foundation Academy, Robot Design Award for Abelard Reynolds School No. 42, and the first place in robotics game for Anna Murray-Douglass Academy School No. 12.