Ogden native volunteers with annual Iowa FIRST LEGO League Championship

2015 Jan 21

Rachael Oien, a senior in mechanical engineering at Iowa State, was one of many ISU students who spent a mild Saturday in January with hundreds of students from across the state of Iowa in a high-spirited and fun LEGO competition.

On Jan. 17, 2015, the College of Engineering hosted the Iowa FIRST LEGO League Championship. The event featured 72 teams of 9- to 14-year-olds who qualified for the championship during regional competitions held all over the state.

For the competition, the student teams and their rolling LEGO robots work to complete a series of missions based on the year's theme of "World Class: Learning Unleashed." The students also have to prepare a project that presents an innovative solution to a learning challenge.

"From referees to traffic controllers, the college students who volunteer for this event help keep the environment safe, fun and engaging for participants and spectators," said Camille Sloan Schroeder, who oversees K-12 community outreach for Iowa State's College of Engineering. "The Iowa FIRST LEGO League Championship is such an important part of our mission to get kids excited about engineering, and the volunteers keep it going year after year."

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Iowa State's College of Engineering has directed and sponsored the state championship for 13 years as part of its outreach efforts. The championship is also sponsored by Rockwell Collins and John Deere.

FIRST LEGO League is the creation of FIRST, a nonprofit organization based in New Hampshire dedicated to inspiring young people to explore science and technology, and the LEGO Group, the Denmark-based toy manufacturer.