More than 600 local students discover hands-on STEM learning through this LEGO competition

Six-hundred and fifty students on 78 teams from schools and communities all across Western Pennsylvania competed in the First LEGO League Grand Championship at Aliquippa High School on Dec. 7. The students, in third through eighth grades, have been working together as individual teams to design robots using LEGOs and program them to solve missions.

The goal is to teach young people skills through hands-on learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Students are taught to use critical thinking, teamwork and research to come up with solutions and then present those to the judges.

Murat Uzman, one of the organizers of the competition, is a volunteer with First LEGO League. He is also the coach of one of the teams competing, called HUBWORKS Wizards. “The organization, through this competition, teaches kids great skills that they can use for the rest of their lives,” Uzman says.

The competition is about more than just robots. Students also compete on innovation projects, where they’re tasked with solving a real-world problem. This year’s theme is “submerged” – meaning anything underwater.

The competition is completely run by volunteers and is organized by a local robotics team called Brain-STEM Learning. Eight teams from the Western PA FLL Championship will advance to compete at the Pennsylvania State Championship to be held in February in Palmyra, Pa.

Two winners from the state will then advance to the international championship, called the World Festival, which will be held in April in Houston, Texas.