PVĢ robotics club team takes part in the FLL competition in Cēsis
On 20 February 2016 the robotics club team of the Preiļi State Gymnasium – PVĢ-FLL took part in the First Lego League competition, which was held in Cēsis. It was a great opportunity for the team members to get to know one another better and to gain experience for the competitions of coming years. Every team member received a medal and, of course, a great mood for the rest of the weekend. The teams’ preparation was supported by the teachers Elita Grigale and Juris Erts, and the teacher Ivars Pakers took the team to the competition and supported it there.
First LEGO League is a fun and interesting way to learn science and technology. The FLL programme is intended for pupils aged 9 to 16. Its aim is to popularise science and technology among young people and to develop the necessary knowledge and skills.
To take part in FLL competitions you need a team (max 10 pupils) with one adult. The team does not necessarily have to represent a school; it can represent an already existing organisation, club, or simply friends who want to do exciting things together. That is precisely why the FLL programme can be used as an interest-based education club at school.
The team’s adults, or coaches, do not need advanced knowledge of technology. The pupils are the ones who do most of the main work.
Guided by the FLL core values, teams take part in the annual competition. Three elements – the robot game, the project and the FLL core values – make up the year’s “challenge”.
In the robot game the team has to build and programme an autonomous LEGO Minstorm robot. In this part of the competition the aim is to solve various tasks and score as many points as possible in 2.5 minutes.
Another task in the FLL competition is to present your project. Every year a new theme, or problem, is set. The teams have to research this problem and find out how scientists and engineers try to solve it today. Then they have to find an innovative solution, which may also be based on an existing solution. It is very important that different teams communicate with one another and share their experience.
Linda Madelāne, competition participant
