Kids at Meadowridge School will be making some incredible things out of LEGO on March 9 as more than 200 students from all over B.C. and the Yukon will arrive at the school to compete in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge BC/Yukon Championship.
This annual STEM event has been hosted by Meadowridge School for several years now, with students gathering to build and race custom-made LEGO robots in hopes of qualifying for the World Championship in Texas as well as other international events.
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Meadowridge marketing and communications coordinator Danica McGaffney said that a total of 36 teams will be competing this year, with each team made up of four to 10 kids between the ages of nine and 14.
Included amongst the tech-savvy teams are six teams from Maple Ridge, all of whom earned a place in the competition after finishing in top spots at one of the qualifying events throughout the province.
“Team members will be competing with their robots that they have built and coded on the competition tables to try to get their best score,” explained McGaffney.
“They also have a judging session where they present an innovation project which tries to solve a current problem facing society with innovative ideas about how to use STEM. Teams are also encouraged to become good teammates and work on their communication and collaboration skills.”
At last year’s FIRST LEGO League Challenge BC/Yukon Championship, one local team was able to earn an award, with the Maple Ridge teams hoping to perform even better this time around.
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Various events will take place at the school between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, with the public encouraged to come by and watch the kids compete.