Fayetteville Academy to Host FIRST® LEGO® League Tournament
Teams solve real-world problems through research and robot design
Saturday, November 2, 2013 from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Fayetteville, NC – Children around the world have been tasked with researching a real-world scientific issue and designing and building an original robot in the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) Challenge. This weekend at the Fayetteville Academy, 3200 Cliffdale Rd. in the gymnasium, teams of students from the NC region, guided by their volunteer coaches, will demonstrate their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play, sportsmanship, and sense of community. Among the participants are seven members of FLL Team from Fayetteville Academy, also known as the “Academy Actuators.” This team is comprised of four fourth graders and three fifth graders who have spent the last two months preparing for this event. Through the use of this event, the Lower School has introduced their first curricular STEM program.FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international program for 9 to 16 year-old children (9 to 14 in the U.S. and Canada) created in a partnership between FIRST and The LEGO Group in 1998 to get children excited about science and technology – and teach them valuable employment and life skills. Children work alongside adult mentors to design, build, and program autonomous robots and create an innovative solution to a problem as part of their research project. The competition season culminates at high-energy, sports-like tournaments. Like any other organized “sport,” teams also fundraise, create a team identity, and go on field trips.
The Fayetteville Academy Actuators are comprised of four fourth graders and three fifth graders who have spent the last two months preparing for this event. Through the use of this event, the Lower School has introduced their first curricular STEM program.
“Body Forward” is a two-part robotics challenge based on biomedical engineering that requires research to complete the project phase, and science and engineering to master the complex missions of the robot game phase. In the project phase, teams research a body part, function, or system; create an innovative solution to protect, repair, heal, or improve it; and share their solution(s) with the global community. In the robot game phase, teams confront some of today’s medical issues and apply robotics, sensor technology, and ingenuity to solve them. Robot missions in the FLL Challenge range from the familiar, including bone repair, rapid blood screening, and pace makers, to the futuristic, such as nerve mapping, bionic eyes, and object control through thought. The robots, designed by the children and built using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technologies, require a variety of mechanical capabilities to accomplish the missions set forth in the Challenge.
The FLL competition is judged in four areas: project presentation; robot performance; technical design and programming of the robot; and teamwork, with a consideration of the FLL Core Values. The highest onor will go to the team that is the most rounded in these areas and best exemplifies the spirit and values of the program.
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunitiesin science, technology and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and more than $12 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC® ) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC® ) for high-school students, FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL® ) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S. and Canada), and Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLL™) for 6 to 9-year-olds. Gracious Professionalism™ is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org. To learn more about the “Body Forward™” Challenge, go to www.FIRSTLEGOLeague.org.
FIRST®, the FIRST® logo, FIRST® Robotics Competition, FRC®, FIRST® Tech Challenge, and FTC® are registered trademarks, and Gracious Professionalism™ is a common law trademark, of the United States Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST®). LEGO® and MINDSTORMS® are registered trademarks of The LEGO Group. FIRST® LEGO® League, FLL®, Junior FIRST® LEGO® League, Jr.FLL™, and Body Forward™ are jointly held trademarks of FIRST and The LEGO Group
