November 19, 2004

Students to showcase ingenuity through LEGO robots

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Elementary and middle school students from throughout Indiana on Sunday (Nov. 21) will demonstrate their LEGO robots at Purdue's For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) program's LEGO League qualifying tournament.

The tournament will take place from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Purdue University Armory. The students constructed robots to perform tasks for people with disabilities, such as climbing stairs and picking up objects.

"The themes are typically based around a real-world situation or problem," said Brian Kilgour, assistant director of junior robotics for Purdue FIRST programs. "This year the challenge theme is equal access for people with disabilities."

In addition to serving as a host for the tournament, Purdue students in the FIRST programs work with more than 100 students in five Lafayette-West Lafayette schools to construct robots and compete in LEGO League tournaments throughout Indiana. The Purdue Armory also will be the site for a regional FIRST robotics event March 17-19 at which 34 teams of high school students from throughout the Midwest, including West Lafayette and Kokomo, Ind., will compete.

Patrick Wesonga, director of Purdue FIRST programs, said Purdue students have a tremendous impact on the younger students with which they work.

"I still continue to be amazed at the levels of creativity and ingenuity that the students demonstrate through FIRST," Wesonga said. "The LEGO robots they build and the research papers they write are tangible evidence of how valuable FIRST is in inspiring children."

FIRST, based in Manchester, N.H., was founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989. It designs innovative programs to motivate students to pursue studies in science, technology and engineering.

CONTACT: Wesonga, (765) 496-8324, pwesonga@purdue.edu; Kilgour, (765) 496-8324, bkilgour@purdue.edu

Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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