-New Season Brings FIRST LEGO League Qualifier Tournament

MASTIC BEACH, NEW YORK – Area children ages 9 to 14 are among the over 320,000 children around the world who have risen to the 2019/2020 FIRST® LEGO® League CITY SHAPERSM Challenge. To successfully complete the Challenge, teams of young people must conduct research and build and program a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robot to explore one of the most relevant topics facing the world today: sustainability. Teams in more than 100 countries will design and construct practical, sustainable and beautiful buildings and spaces, catering to the diverse needs of their users as part of the season Challenge. Through hands-on experience and working in teams, children have a chance to explore a real-world issue to gain an appreciation for and interest in science and technology, and are empowered to make their innovative solutions a reality.

WHAT: Over 2,000 local children on 200 teams go head to head, putting eight weeks of research, design, and programming to the test in a regional Qualifying Tournament to win honors, recognition and advancement to the Long Island Championship.

WHEN: Saturday, January 11, 2020
8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: William Floyd High School
240 Mastic Beach Road
Mastic Beach, NY

VISUALS: -Amazing, custom-built LEGO® Mindstorms® robots come to life in fast-paced, timed competitions
-Hundreds of students and their coaches putting designs and skills to the test
-Children interacting with local volunteers and meeting with judges to present their research projects related to the CITY SHAPERSM Challenge
-On-site teamwork, troubleshooting, problem solving
-Learning research projects on display
-Spirit and excitement as students, families, friends cheer for their local teams

*Access to and interviews with students, teachers, coaches, mentors and local sponsors available upon request.