Macalla Girl Guides secure win in DCU First Lego League
Congratulations to six of the Macalla Girl Guides in Trim who competed in the First Lego League competition of Ireland, held in DCU. Having managed to secure the title of 1st place in the 'Core Values' section as well as runner up across all other sections, they will now advance to the All-Ireland Finals which takes place on the 25th of March in Dublin this year.
A total of 29 teams competed across the three days, with students participating from 5th class to transition year, ranging from 11-16 years of age. This year’s ‘SUPERPOWERED’ challenge delved into all aspects of energy, including its generation, storage, distribution, and consumption, with a particular focus on green energy sources such as renewable and sustainable energy.
Led by Cathy Brennan, the girls worked tirelessly over the past six months in preparation for the event and well deserve the win.
"FIRST LEGO League is a platform for students to discover the world of STEM and collaborate on real-world problems, and in this instance the sourcing of green energy," Ross Maguire of Learnit said. "These fantastic young people are taking the first steps to become tomorrow’s innovators, creators, and problem-solvers. Today is not about building robots, it is about robots building people.”
Over 120 teams took part in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge this year, with nine regional tournaments across the country. Supported by the SFI Discover Programme, the initiative was organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in partnership with Irish delivery partner, Learnit, DCU Institute of Education and its LEGO Education Innovation Studio.
Over the past three years FIRST LEGO League participation has grown by 70% in Ireland. From early childhood right through to third level education, STEM concepts and skills can be explored and encouraged through the likes of these challenges. Professor Deirdre Butler, DCU Institute of Education LEGO Education Innovation Studio said: "By adopting LEGO’s playful learning tools, with a ‘Hands on, Minds on, Hearts on’ mindset, in a supportive learning environment, this encourages young people to be leaders and innovators into the future.”