Education

QC Lego Teams Start Season at John Deere

WVIK, Quad Cities NPR | By Michelle O'Neill

Published September 13, 2019 at 12:57 PM CDT

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A local team at a FIRST Lego League event in April at the Putnam Museum

https://tinyurl.com/y3jxtkvv / QC Engineering & Science Council

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A robotics display at a past Lego League event at the Putnam

QC Engineering & Science Council / QC Engineering & Science Council

Hundreds of kids, teens, and their coaches will spend their Saturday at John Deere headquarters in Moline. For the first time, Deere and Company will host the annual kickoff of the FIRST Lego League season.

Image of the City Shaper map which is part of this year's challenge

Pat Barnes, Education Program Director for Deere, says members of 40 teams will learn about the theme for this year's competition called, "City Shaper."

Barnes says Lego League gives the students a chance to learn teamwork, communication skills, and technical skills.

For example, the challenge will be for students to come up with a solution to a real-world problem. Other sessions will feature robotics demonstrations and mentoring.

The local FIRST Lego League kickoff will begin at 8:30 tomorrow morning at Deere Headquarters.

FIRST is an acronym - "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology." Usually the Quad Cities area kickoff is held at the Putnam Museum in Davenport.

This year, Deere will be a global sponsor of FIRST Lego League, and increase its support to $850,000 a year. Last year, Deere sponsored more than 700 teams in five countries.