MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact
Cara Halstead Cea, (914) 906-9680, chalstead@pace.edu
PHOTO EDITORS: THE KIDS AND ROBOTS ARE MARVELOUSLY VISUAL
Pace University to host junior FIRST LEGO League robot
expo for 6-9 year-olds and Manhattan qualifying tournament for 9-14-year-olds
20+ teams of scientists as young as 6, plus 75 volunteers
to converge on Pace’s downtown campus for day of competition
Year’s theme encourages practical solutions for responsible energy use
New York, NY – Pace University, in partnership with Stuyvesant High School, will host the New York City FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Manhattan Qualifying Tournament for 9 to 14-year-olds this Sunday, December 2, 2008. The same day, Pace will also host the 2nd annual Junior FIRST LEGO League (JFLL) non-competitive Expo for children age 6 to 9. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
Pace students and faculty members from the University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems are among the organizers and volunteers.
Date: Sunday, December 2, 2008
Time: 8:30am - 3:00pm
Location: Pace University, downtown campus, One Pace Plaza, just east of City Hall
Supported by the New York City FIRST LEGO League chapter, 10 to 15 teams of 9 to 14 year olds from the Borough of Manhattan will come together at Pace University’s downtown campus for a day of competition. Qualifying teams will go one to compete in the FLL expo in Manhattan in late January. The winners of that competition compete internationally. The schedule for Sunday’s qualifying tournament is as follows:
8:30-9:30 Registration
9:30-12:00 Judging (FLL) – Gym and Student Union
12:00-1:00 Parade of Teams– Gym
1:00-2:30 Robot Performance (FLL) – Gym
2:30 Awards (FLL) – Gym
The 2nd Annual Junior FIRST LEGO League Expo, a program for 6 to 9-year-olds, is expected to attract 9-12 teams, a 30 percent increase from last year. The schedule is as follows:
9:30-10:15 Registration
10:15-12:00 Team Showcase – Multipurpose Room
12:00-1:00 Parade of Teams (FLL and JFLL) and JFLL Awards - Gym
The approximately 75 volunteers will come from Pace students, staff, and faculty members, students from Stuyvesant High School, and industry professionals.
Unique to this event is the partnership between Pace University and Stuyvesant High School – and the fact that on the Pace NYC campus there will be students from all levels of schooling from first grade through graduate school working together to promote science and technology.
The FLL theme for this year is Power Puzzle, which is about understanding the elements of energy use in a world where people use more energy every day. The Power Puzzle missions get FLL teams to consider the energy choices available and how those choices affect the world. The teams are challenged to find practical solutions in their communities while considering the impacts their actions or inactions can have on their lives and the world. As they work to make the puzzle pieces fit, they must consider all parts of energy use, including how energy is made, stored, used and consumed, and how resulting waste is disposed of.
The FIRST organization was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to get children interested in and excited by technology. The FLL robotic competitions have become internationally recognized. A partnership between FIRST and the LEGO Company resulted in the formation of FIRST LEGO League (FLL) in 1998.
The pilot year had 200 teams participating. This year, nine years after the initial tournament, there are over 8000 teams internationally.
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