FIRST LEGO League

Vermont needs you! 

The FIRST LEGO League robotics competition has just launched for this year. Last year was our inaugural entry into the competition and we had two teams progress to the National South finals. With another enthusiastic group of Year 7s joining us (some with international experience), this year we are going one step further and will be hosting a regional tournament ourselves on Saturday, November 14th.

To this end, we are looking for volunteers to help run the day. There are a variety of roles, from judges to runners and guides. Depending on the role, volunteers can be as young as 14. Volunteers aged 18 and over will need a working with children check.

This year’s theme is titled ‘Bioglow’, with a focus on nature and biodiversity. Participants will complete an ‘Innovative project’ where they identify a real-world problem, consult with experts in the field and propose a prototype solution to that problem. Anyone with an interest in conservation and biodiversity might be interested in volunteering on the day to judge teams’ Innovative projects.

Students will also compete in the ‘Robot Game’, where they design and build a robot to complete up to 15 missions within three minutes. Referees will be needed for the robot games, which will mostly require you to add up scores based on how well the robots completed their missions. Students will also need to present the evolution of their robot designs to a panel of judges, so those interested in a technical nature might wish to also volunteer. 

There are a number of other volunteer roles that need to be filled to help the day run smoothly – no technical skill or expertise required!

Anyone interested in volunteering or who would like to find out more information can contact me via email at chris.paragreen@education.vic.gov.au. It’s a great day to be involved in, with so much energy an excitement around.