It is that time again when the annual First Lego League competition takes place on Saturday, October 24^th at the KZN Department of Education Training Institute which will be transformed into a battleground for friendly competition.

Schools around KZN have been preparing throughout the year for the title of First Lego League KZN champions.

Now in its 5^th year, the KZN Science Centre and global software giant SAP (Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing) are proud hosts of the KwaZulu-Natal regional finals of the First Lego League competition.

The First Lego League is an amazing, multi-disciplinary robotics competition held annually around the world! It offers learners a unique opportunity to participate in an educational yet fun, competitive and mind boggling team building experience.

There is a phrase, “The unstoppable force meets the immovable object” but what happens when imagination, creativity and innovation meets science, technology and engineering?

The competition aims to stimulate the minds of techno-savvy learners to think outside the “blocks” to create unique and innovative solutions to global problems. Teams will be put to the test through a series of tasks and robotics challenges centred on a particular theme.

With this year’s theme being “Trash Trek”, teams are challenged to collect, sort and find creative ways to transform waste materials into useful items. In addition, each team will have to build and incorporate their Lego MindStorm robot into the project and present their creations to the competition judges. The judges will assess each teams efforts based on 3 primary aspects; the robotics challenge, team core values and problem solving capabilities.

Sunil Geness, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP says, “SAP is proud to sponsor this exciting competition especially as it contributes to developing the skills of learners in IT, science and engineering. Education is a key focus of SAP and we see the First Lego League competition as a way of educating and inspiring learners to be our scientists of tomorrow”.

“We are excited to host the competition again this year. Thanks to our sponsor, SAP, our learners can discover the numerous ways in which science and technology can be used to help mitigate some of the biggest problems plaguing society today and as such create a better future! The excitement is mounting as game day approaches and teams finally get to showcase their creative ideas and programming skills to peers from schools across KZN”, added the Chief Executive Officer for the KZN Science Centre, Candice Potgieter.

For more information on how your school can participate in the world of endless possibilities of First Lego League, contact the KZNSC during office hours on 031 830 5379 or email them at education@kznsc.org