They came, they built, they conquered: LEGO robots roll onto campus

Nearly 400 students from across Ontario put their LEGO robot programming skills to the ultimate test at this year’s FIRST LEGO League’s (FLL) Ontario East Provincial Championships.

In preparation for the January 16 event held on campus, students between the ages of nine and 14 applied math and science concepts to research, design, build and program autonomous robots using LEGO Mindstorms software. They used the robots they created to showcase the 2015 FLL project mission: TRASH TREK. The mission challenged students to evaluate how trash is handled, from collection to sorting, smart production and reuse. After choosing a piece of trash as their focus, competitors identified issues with the way the trash is currently handled,  found out what was being done to solve the problem and designed an innovative solution of their own, which they presented to the judges.

At the end of a day filled with tough and thrilling competition, team Ctrl-Z from Bayview Glen School in Toronto, Ontario was crowned the winner and awarded with the opportunity to compete in a choice of five international championships taking place this spring in Arkansas, Australia, California, the Philippines and Spain.

“The shared campus of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College is an ideal venue for a competition, which encourages critical thinking and inspires young students to push the boundaries of innovation,” said President Tim McTiernan, UOIT. “We are proud to support creative ways of learning by co-hosting the FLL competition each year.”

“As a college that prides itself on innovation, it is inspiring to watch some of Ontario’s brightest young minds enjoy using science and technology to analyze current challenges, develop novel solutions and bring their ideas to life using modern machinery and robotics,” said Don Lovisa, President, DC. “Once again, we were pleased to welcome competitors and their families to our shared campus to participate in this fun-filled competition.”

“We always have a great time when we bring the FLL tournament to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College,” said Dave Ellis, Director, FIRST LEGO League Ontario. “The Ontario East Provincial Championship is a key part of the overall season each year; we really appreciate the support offered by both academic institutions as we work to foster a love of science, technology, engineering and math concepts.”

Awards list

For more information about FLL, please visit firstroboticscanada.org.

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