PRESS ROOM & NEWS

FIRST^® LEGO^® League and FIRST^® LEGO^® League Jr. Task More than 300,000 Children Worldwide to Think About How and Why We Use Water

MANCHESTER, N.H., August 16, 2017 ― FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an international, K-12 not-for-profit organization founded to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, announced that the 2017-2018 FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. seasons task students to explore the human water cycle.

“I know how much being involved in FIRST means to these students,” said Sarah White, environmental compliance specialist at UniFirst Corporation. “I hope that through this year’s subject matter, they develop a love for all things water as I have [through my work]. Perhaps I’ll see some of them in the workforce in a few years!”

For the FIRST LEGO League HYDRO DYNAMICS^SM and FIRST LEGO League Jr. AQUA ADVENTURE^SM Challenges, FIRST collaborated with experts in the fields of water purification, wastewater collection, environmental compliance, hydrology, agriculture, medicine, and more. These experts made up the Challenge Advisory Team, which included representatives from DEKA Research & Development, Washington State University, and the Institute for Water, Environment & Health at United Nations University, among others. These specialists collaborated with FIRST to create a theme and challenge missions that reflect how we find, transport, use, and dispose of water.

“Each year, FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League design a real-world challenge that allows children to tap into their innate curiosity and appetite for discovery,” said Donald E. Bossi, president of FIRST. “Working as a team to explore a global issue, these students sharpen their innovative problem-solving skills, and apply concepts they’re learning during the school day. The timely topic of the human water cycle will task kids with the important duty of understanding what happens to our water and how we can improve the ways in which we use it.”

Team registration for both programs is open now: www.firstinspires.org.

• FIRST^® LEGO^® League Jr. AQUA ADVENTURE^SM Challenge

The 2017-2018 AQUA ADVENTURE Challenge will reach over 65,000 children, ages 6-10, from 43 countries and help them learn where the water they use every day comes from, as well as what happens to it on its journey through the water cycle.

Each year since 2004, FIRST LEGO League Jr. presents a new and exciting challenge to ignite creativity in young children. This year, while exploring the real-world theme of how water is used by humans, teams will use LEGO^® Education WeDo to build and program a model that moves, learning basic engineering and programming concepts. They will also illustrate their research through a Show Me Poster. Throughout their experience, teams will operate under a signature set of Core Values, which emphasize collaboration, discovery, and respect.

New this year is an exclusive LEGO Education Inspire Set containing 700+ LEGO^® bricks and elements teams can use to construct their team model. This set will also include a yearly model – a water pump for this season – that serves as a starting point for teams.

• FIRST^® LEGO^® League HYDRO DYNAMICS^SM Challenge

In the 2017-2018 HYDRO DYNAMICS^SM Challenge, more than 235,000 children, ages 9 to 16*, from nearly 90 countries will explore how we can improve the human water cycle. Students are challenged to learn all about how we find, transport, use, and/or dispose of water, and propose solutions for any issues they identify.

“Fifty percent of all human illness is the result of waterborne pathogens,” said Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST. “If you gave people clean water, you would empty 50 percent of the hospital beds in the world. We can work together to solve the world’s water crisis, and who better to contribute to this work than the young people who will inherit today’s global issues?”

FIRST LEGO League challenges kids to think like scientists and engineers. During the HYDRO DYNAMICS season, teams of up to 10 students will choose and solve a real-world human water cycle problem as their Project. Teams will also build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS^® technology to solve a series of water-usage-themed missions as part of the Robot Game. Missions include removal of a broken water pipe, movement of sludge, filtering water, and more. The exclusive LEGO models used to demonstrate these missions include a replica of Kamen’s groundbreaking water purification system, the SlingShot. Throughout the season, teams will operate under a signature set of Core Values, celebrating discovery, teamwork, and Gracious Professionalism^®.

*ages vary by country

FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League are two of four international K-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) robotics programs in the Progression of Programs offered by FIRST.

Currently in its 19th season, FIRST LEGO League anticipates its largest impact ever, with approximately 33,000 teams competing in about 1,400 Qualifying and Championship Tournaments globally. Select teams will also have the opportunity to participate at two FIRST LEGO League World Festivals, to be held in conjunction with the FIRST Championship, April 18-21, 2018, in Houston, and April 25-28, 2018, in Detroit.

In 1998, FIRST Founder Dean Kamen and the LEGO Group’s Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen joined forces to create FIRST LEGO League, a powerful program that engages children in playful, meaningful learning while helping them discover the fun in science and technology. The program offering has expanded to include the youngest participants through FIRST LEGO League Jr.

FIRST LEGO League Jr. receives global support from LEGO Education. FIRST LEGO League is delivered annually through the support of global sponsors LEGO Education, 3M, NI and Rockwell Automation.