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School of STEM Education, Innovation & Global Studies
FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. CREATURE CRAZESM Challenge, 11-2-17
FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. CREATURE CRAZESM Challenge. 11th February 2017

FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. CREATURE CRAZESM Challenge

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For the past two months, children from different classes in 4 Dublin schools have been preparing for the inaugural Leinster FIRST® LEGO® League JR. Challenge (Creature Craze).

On Saturday morning, in the Lego Education Innovation Studio on the St. Patrick’s Campus 11th February 2017, the excitement and energy was contagious as more than 300 people came to the showcase event.  Twenty five teams of students (from 2nd to 6th class) displayed their research and the  projects they developed in response to the Creature Crazy challenge.  Family and friends along with faculty, students and guests from the engineering industry came along to learn all about what the children had been working on. 

FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. is an exciting Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) programme for 6-12 year olds. Through meaningful team-based relationships between peers and adults, FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. participants engage in valuable STEM experiences relevant to the world around them.

Each year, FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. presents a new and exciting Challenge to ignite the creativity of young children. While exploring the real-world theme, teams will learn about simple machines as they build a model made of LEGO elements with a motorized part. They will also learn to present information through a Show Me Poster. Throughout their experience, teams will operate under a signature set of Core Values, celebrating discovery, teamwork, and Gracious Professionalism®.

DCU Institute of Education (St. Patrick’s Campus) has partnered with STEM Solutions to develop and support the initiative.  Eight teachers took part in several professional learning workshops focusing on the use of LEGO Education to bring S.T.E.M subjects to life.  Children and teachers were supported in each of the schools with several visits and a focused workshop to introduce them to the project. The teachers and children then continued to develop their projects over several weeks in school.

Later this year, DCU LEGO Education Innovation Studio in partnership with STEM Solutions will be introducing this project to more schools in the Leinster and Munster regions with the aim of developing a National FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. Challenge.  Professor Deirdre Butler