District to host LEGO robotics tournament

November 3, 2009 — The Science, Technology, Aerospace and Robotics Society (STARS) of Cypress will host a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) qualifying tournament on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Cypress Springs High School.

The competition will feature 45 teams of 9- to 14-year-old students from as far away as Laredo who will attempt to qualify for a regional tournament in Pearland in December.

The FLL is part of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics program that runs worldwide. FLL competitors will use LEGO Mindstorms sets and program their LEGO brain via a computer download.

During the contest, the competitors present their programmed robot and place it on a playing field that measures 4-by-8 feet. At a countdown of “3-2-1-LEGO!,” the robots are released to autonomously navigate through a series of tasks that last 2 1/2 minutes.

Teams are judged for several awards in many categories from design to innovation, and the top teams will advance to the regional tournament. Regional winners will advance to the World Tournament in the spring.

“As we continue to move into the age of technology, it is our youth that will carry the torch of innovation and creative industry,” said Cypress Springs teacher Sam Saenz, tournament director. “The FIRST LEGO League program reaches down into our elementary and middle schools to excite and entice our youth to become a viable part of this march into our future. This gives them the opportunity of opening their eyes and their minds to potential careers that they may have never considered.”