by Kristina Jackson | University Communication and Marketing
A University of Nebraska–Lincoln program is helping hundreds of youth statewide build robotics skills one brick at a time.
Coordinated through Nebraska 4-H, part of the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the FIRST Lego League features youth in grades 4 through 8 teaming up to solve robotics challenges using the classic building block toy. Participants in the annual program learn design, engineering, programming and teamwork skills while dipping their toes into potential career paths.
“We’re hoping to plant a seed for these students of, ‘What I’m doing for fun right now could be a career later for me as I grow older,’” said Keith Mandachit, a longtime volunteer with the program. “When they graduate high school and head for college trying to figure out what they want to do, maybe that seed grows into wanting to do something related to programming or robotics.”
During competitions each spring, teams focus on a central theme linked to a specific challenge. They are ultimately judged on their research into the theme, demonstration of the program’s core values, robot design, and tasks completed on a robotics playing field. The tasks can include programming the robots to pick up an item, move it to a specific spot and maneuver around various obstacles.
This spring, 80 teams made up of 576 youth and 198 coaches are participating in the FIRST Lego League in Nebraska. They will come together to compete at the state tournament, which will be held over two days in March in Lincoln. Leagues and competitions can be global, too. FIRST — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — is an international youth organization that operates the FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Lego League Challenge, FIRST Lego League Explore, FIRST Lego League Discover and FIRST Tech Challenge competitions.
Read more:
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/lego-league-helps-robotics-programming-click-for-nebraska-youth/