Students from six Galway schools are finalising their entries for the first Lego League Robotics Challenge national finals which take place at the Radisson Hotel on Saturday January 8.
The local schools involved are last year’s champions - Coláiste na Coiribe; St Paul’s College, Oughterard, who won Best Project Award last year; Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin, Cheatrua Rua; Scoil Cholmcille, Indreabhan; St Augustine’s NS Clontuskert; and the Moycullen-based McAndrew family.
These six teams will join 19 others from around the country to compete for a place in the global final. The competition features 140,000 participants from 56 countries around the world.
Now in its fourth year in Ireland, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology ) LEGO League Robotics Challenge is open to nine-to 16 year-olds who are required to work together to design, build and programme robots using Lego mindstorms technology.
The first Lego League Challenge in Ireland is organised by The Galway Education Centre and is sponsored by the Medtronic Foundation and SAP. They provide mentoring, judging and financial support.
A Teamwork, best project and technical awards will also be presented on January 8. There will be live presentations and a number of interactive displays such as a vibrating model airplane with strobe light where students can observe patterns with the naked eye and laser eavesdropping where visitors are shown how a laser beam can be used to detect vibrations at a distance.
With lots of music and dancing also thrown into this mix, this could be the perfect post-Christmas family day out. Admission is free and the event is open from 10.30am to 4.30pm.
