Lego Projects aims to draw kids to science

Environmentally friendly robots swarmed into Istanbul on Friday for the 5th First Lego League tournament. Eighty teams of children aged 9 to 16 are engaging their creations in the competition this weekend.

The First Lego League is a worldwide tournament comprised of 49 participating countries, and this year 130,000 youths will be competing. The first round of the 5th robotics tournament in Istanbul, sponsored by Koç Holding, aims to encourage children across Turkey to be involved in science and technology and participate in creative projects to develop their minds and scientific skills.

Didem Çapa, president of the creative children’s organization Ğ the key organizers of the tournament Ğ said science and technology play a big part in today’s world, and as the pioneers of the future it is important for youths to participate in projects similar to the Lego tournament to develop their creativity skills.

Organizers of the tournament, including the Children’s Creative Organization, Smart Kids Organisation, Mimar Sinan University Industrial Product Design Department and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, set a theme each year for the robotic projects. This year’s theme is "climate change," a topic that aims to raise awareness among the participants about issues related to the environment such as global warming.

In the Robotic Lego tournament this year the 80 teams from 17 provinces across Turkey have built Lego robots and mechanical devices to compete on a racecourse and complete various tasks related to the climate change theme. The robots will be expected to switch off lights, open windows, pick up litter, and bringing Lego figures together to form a community.

The robots will be judged on their performance through the points they gain while carrying out tasks on the racecourse and other factors within the project’s framework. When presenting their robots to the panel of judges on opening day, the teams will be asked to deliver a short presentation about climate change and environmentally friendly engineering. Moreover they will be asked detailed questions by technical judges about stages of the construction process for the robots. The judges will merit the projects based on all these factors with teamwork at the forefront.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Çapa said, "The performance delivered by the robots on the day is not as important as the overall idea of the project." Teams in the top prize categories, which include first place champions prize, best project prize, best robot performance prize, best robot engineering prize and best teamwork prize, will be selected to participate in the Open European 1st Lego League tournament, which will be hosted by Istanbul in 2010 during its time as the European Capital of Culture.

The 5th First Lego League tournament is taking place in Istanbul this weekend. Honorary president of Koç Holding, Rahmi Koç, will be appearing Saturday at the tournament to hear the climate change project presentations and see the performance from the Lego robots. "I believe this project is a driving force behind better understanding and practice of science and technology policies in our country," said Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş.

The creative children's organization

The Creative Children’s Organization said it believes these events, such as the Lego project, shed light on the future career choices of students and encourage children to pursue activities that will help develop their creative skills. The association organizes events in cultural and public locations like Topkapı Palace Museum, Yildiz Palace Museum, Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Ayasofya Museum, Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Dolmabahçe Palace Museum and Istanbul Atatürk Airport TAV. Plastic art, music, and drama are exhibited in the events held with the participation of schools and other youth groups. The association sets goals to provide opportunities for students to explore their own cultural assumptions and values.