LIMA, OH (WLIO)-Â Most of us have probably sculpted a castle or a fortress out of Legos, but did you know that those tiny blocks can craft a big, bright future in STEM careers for local youth?
The FIRST Lego League for kids aged 9 to 14 is providing local youth an opportunity to explore aspects of robotics. The kids receive a task by "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" or FIRST Lego where they craft sculptures and follow a map and challenge. This year, the challenge is "super powered," and this focuses around the various types of energy required to build their robot. With this program, organizers strive to provide kids with both educational and personal benefits.
"This is a really big STEM program that we have. It really gets kids into thinking about building, the science, especially since this year is super powered. It gets them into thinking about energy, and it does require a lot of computer programming, so it gets them into stuff like that. I think it's a really good outlet for kids who especially aren't really into sports or anything like that, and this is a really great extracurricular activity to get them to meet other kids that are passionate about building or showing their creativity and just putting their minds together to get one goal done," says Taylor Shimp, Teen Development Director, Lima Family YMCA.
This round of FIRST Lego League will run through mid-December, but another seven week league will begin in January.
