Picture: BROOKE LITTLEWOOD
WHEN most people think of LEGO they think of the small coloured building blocks, which quickly became a familiar staple in almost every child’s toy box.
However, with over three decades of heritage, LEGO has evolved over the years and moved from the toy box and into the classroom to be used as a teaching tool for building and coding robots.
Beachport Primary School’s upper primary students will showcase what they have gleaned from the interlocking blocks through science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) learning at Monday’s inaugural LEGO League competition in Mount Gambier.
Three groups from the school, consisting of around five students, will compete at the event against other schools from across the Limestone Coast.
Beachport Primary teacher Morgan Lindner said students had spent many weeks, hours and lunchtimes in preparation for the competition, which involves participants coding a robot to complete set tasks and manoeuvres around a prescribed LEGO mat.
“The first LEGO league involves students collaborating to build and code robots and undertake a research inquiry based project,” she said.
“These are valuable skills for students for the jobs of the future.
“Students code their robot and make it do what they need it to do.
“Once it is placed on the mat, they cannot touch it.
“Completing the tasks come down to a matter of millimetres – if students are out by a millimetre it can affect their whole code and they can completely miss their mission.”
The competition will involve three runs at two and a half minutes each in which students have to get as many points as they can.
If the robot crashes into any other item or a student touches the robot while it is on the mission mat, they will lose points.
The LEGO League competition will be held at Mount Gambier City Hall with 30 teams participating, involving around 250 students.
