ΕλληνικάThe FIRST® LEGO® League 2024 Cyprus, organised by the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS) on Saturday 6 April 2024, at the European University Cyprus, was successfully completed.
The event was graced with the presence of the Minister of Labour, Mr. Yiannis Panayiotou, who encouraged the young participants and future scientists to continue working with new technologies. The Chief Scientist Mr Dimitris Skouridis and the Rector of European University, Professor Andreas Efstathiou, also addressed the participants.
The President of CCS, Mr. Costas Agrotis, highlighted the importance of the FIRST® LEGO® League as the world's largest robotics league, where children from 4 to 16 years old learn, collaborate, interact and have fun.
The unique FIRST® LEGO® League Cyprus (FLL Cyprus) 2024 festival was attended by 180 students from kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school and technical schools who participated in the theme of this year's FIRST® LEGO® League season which is MASTERPIECE℠ art.
FLL Cyprus 2024 included 3 programs for 3 age categories as follows:
- FLL Discover (event/expo): 4-6 years old
- FLL Explore (event/expo): 6 - 10 years old
- FLL Challenge (contest): 9 - 16 years old.
The FLL Challenge teams, along with their coaches, prepared for months, diving into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts through engaging, hands-on learning experiences. On the event day, they showcased their projects in a dedicated exhibition area to both the public and FLL Cyprus judges. Throughout the event, the FLL Challenge robots undertook various missions on the Robot Game themed field. The scientific committee recognized teams that stood out in the categories of Robot Design, Robot Performance, Innovation Project, and Core Values.
The winning team of the FLL Challenge Cyprus, ROBOTHEADZ of STEM Education Cyprus, will represent Cyprus in the First Lego League Challenge which will take place in Massachusetts, USA next June.
It's worth noting that the FIRST® LEGO® League is a collaboration between FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and the LEGO® Education division of the LEGO® Group, and has been held annually since 1998 in over 110 countries worldwide.
The Discover and Explore kids presented their robotic projects and received awards for programming, poster, model build and FIRST® LEGO® core values
All groups engaged in creative activities in the arts, such as creative writing, music, theatre and graphic design. Creative workshops were provided by European University tutors and instructors from The Steamers (Youth Board), while cookie decorating was provided by Christels Designs. In addition, FLL Challenge students had the opportunity to print t-shirts featuring LEGO figures at the workshop of the Graphic Design Programme of European University Cyprus.
FLL Cyprus went beyond robotics and technology, incorporating fun activities with a presenter, music/DJ, and dance breaks courtesy of Elena Clark and Outplay Dance Schools.
The FIRST® LEGO® League Cyprus 2024 was organised by CCS in collaboration with Eduact and IET Cyprus, with the valuable support of European University Cyprus, XM, ICDL and O3 and the approval of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
Upcoming CCS robotics and youth activities
Aiming to develop digital skills from an early age, CCS organises youth activities and student competitions such as Bebras and the Computer Olympiad. Upcoming events are the cybersecurity competition in May, and the Robotex, MRC and WRO robotics competitions in June and July respectively. For more information, visit www.ccs.org.cy and CCS social media.