Bright hats help showcase clever minds
Wild costumes, clever minds and inspiring enthusiasm were all on show for the seventh annual First LEGO League (FLL) tournament at CQUniversity Gladstone and Townsville on the weekend as students learnt about robotics, coding, problem solving and team building.
The First Lego League events were high energy STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) tournaments that saw about 280 primary and secondary school students from Central Queensland and the Townsville region imagine and innovate new ways to create and communicate art across the globe – using LEGO, creativity and technology skills.
The students, aged nine to 16, took part in the Masterpiece season challenge where they developed skills in research, design and programing in a playful way and discovered their creative passions.
CQUniversity’s Dr Cal Devney said FLL gave participating students an age-appropriate introduction to the exciting areas of STEM subjects by learning how to program LEGO robots and answering questions about society as a whole.
“While students develop skills in building and coding robots, they are also developing their communication skills and teamwork qualities,” she said.
The educational program consisted of two offerings: First Lego League Explore, which was intended for children of primary school age (six to 10 years old), and First Lego League Challenge, which was aimed at students aged nine to 16.
In both programs, participants had the opportunity to dedicate themselves to a new topic from a wide variety of fields and to develop innovative research projects.
This year's tournament season encompassed the theme Masterpiece and challenged teams to find creative ways to get others excited about their hobbies and interests.
Overall champions of the competition in Gladstone were The Sporting Bots (Blackwater North State School), with Chanel Crocs (Chanel College) taking out the Robot Design Award and the Deno Destroyers (Denison State School – Emerald) taking home the Core Values Award.
Toolooa State High School Team 2 won the Innovation Project Award, while the school’s Team 1 took home the Engineering Excellence Award.
Overall champion team in Townsville was Team G.E.A.R. from Townsville Grammar School. A special mention also went out to new team for 2023 The Willows State School.
The Gladstone tournament was not only supported by CQUniversity, but also Education Queensland, Rio Tinto and Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL).
Tournament Director for Gladstone and Acting Principal of Gladstone West State School Sarah Jacob said the Gladstone Regional FLL Tournament allowed regional and rural students the chance to participate in a world-recognised competition, building their STEM skills along the way.
“I am very proud to be the tournament director and appreciate the support from our partners, CQUniversity, Rio and QAL to bring this opportunity to life,” she said.
“As well as our partners, there were countless local volunteers who gave their time in support of our local kids. This event is a testament to the great community we live in, where locals work together so our students can access the same opportunities as their south-east corner counterparts.”
Rio Tinto Yarwun also seized the opportunity to foster grassroots STEM skill development within the community through its partnership with FLL.
“STEM-related events such as this ensure our local students are well-equipped with skills that will help them in their future careers,” Shannon Price, Acting General Manager, Rio Tinto Yarwun said.
QAL General Manager Pine Pienaar said, “We are proud to have supported CQUniversity with this year’s First Lego League Tournament. It was a great opportunity for the next generation to enhance their learning experience.
“Our QAL volunteers were excited to share their industry knowledge and skills as part of this opportunity.
“We thank all who volunteered their time and efforts into making this event possible.”
Tournament referee in Townsville Nathan Brooks-English said the competition was a huge success thanks to the organisers Dr Bree Kitt and Katherine Wise, along with the many volunteers who helped the day run smoothly.
