Lego Food Factor - Clickety-click. Yum!

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT COLLEGE

************************* Sault College hosts FIRST® Lego® League “Food Factor®” Challenge

Local children apply research and robotics to explore food safety with the FIRST ® Lego® League “Food Factor®” Challenge SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - (November 21, 2011) - A number of youth, ages 9 to 14, from Sault Ste. Marie and area are among the record 171,000 children around the world who have risen to the 2011 FIRST® Lego® League (FLL®) “Food Factor®” Challenge.

On Saturday November 26 in the Sault College gymnasium, eight weeks of research and design will culminate in the 5th Annual Algoma Regional First Lego League competition. Twelve teams of children guided by their volunteer coaches will demonstrate their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play, sportsmanship, and sense of community while participating in the event. To successfully complete this year’s challenge, teams of young people must conduct research and build and program a Lego® Mindstorms® robot to explore the ways in which food can become contaminated – from exposure to insects and creatures, to unsterile processing and transportation, to unsanitary preparation and unsafe storage – and then propose real-world solutions for preventing or combating these contaminates.

Through hands-on experience and working in teams, children explore a real-world issue to gain an appreciation for and interest in science and technology. With missions including pollution reversal, pest control and food storage and preparation, teams will have to program their Lego® Mindstorms® robots to explore the growing questions around how to safely get food from its source to consumption. “Food Factor” was developed with the input of food safety and protection experts to provide a practical and realistic challenge project and robot missions.

This year’s Challenge Advisory Team included:

Morgan Hennessey, Assistant Director, National Center for Food Safety and Defense - University of Minnesota

Ryan Larocque, Engineer, Water Purification Project - DEKA

Dr. Aaron Margolin, Professor of Microbiology, Department of Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences – University of New Hampshire

Suzanne Tortorell, Group Manager, Microbiology - Campbell Soup Company

Dr. Catherine Violette, Professor and Specialist, Food and Nutrition – University of New Hampshire

Steve Burmaster, Korah teacher and former Sault College student, has coordinated the area’s involvement in FIRST Lego League challenges.

This will be the fifth consecutive year that the competition has been held at Sault College. “FIRST LEGO League provides a fun and engaging experience for children to become innovators and creative problem solvers on a very relevant and real topic,” explains Colin Kirkwood, Dean, School of Environment, Technology and Business. “The community has been very supportive of this competition and we are pleased to be hosting the competition again this year.” The FLL competition is judged in four areas: project presentation; robot performance; technical design and programming of the robot; and teamwork, with a consideration of the FLL Core Values.

The highest honour will go to the team that best exemplifies the spirit and values of the program.

Select teams will also have the opportunity to participate at the FIRST Lego League World Festival, to be held in conjunction with the FIRST Championship, April 25-28, 2012 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. “There is no shortage of creativity among FIRST LEGO League teams, but plenty of room for improvement in how we handle and prepare our food, “said FIRST Founder Dean Kamen. “I can’t wait to see what these bright minds come up with. Food Factor should bring some new and interesting ideas to the table.” The competition is open to the public, with the opening ceremonies beginning at 1 p.m. and the event running throughout the day.

An awards ceremony will take place in the afternoon.

Students will compete in the main challenge area completing several robotic missions. The following schools will be represented at this robotics competition: Anna McCrea, Aweres, Central Avenue, Grand View, Greenwood, Kiwedin, Notre-Dame-Du-Sault, Queen Elizabeth, R.M. Moore (2 teams), St. Joseph Island Central School and William Merrifield.

Spectators are welcome.

There is no cost for admission to the event. Along with Sault College, the Algoma District School Board, Huron Superior Catholic District School Board, the School College Work Initiative and the Knights of Alloy Robotics are sponsoring this exciting event. To learn more about FIRST, click here. To learn more about the “Food Factor” Challenge, click here.

*************************