Contestants in the FIRST® LEGO® League create a capital of the future
In anticipation of its 700th anniversary, Vilnius has already started thinking about the future, which is why the city invited young people to dream big in the global FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge. After months of preparation, the teams presented their work on 21 December 2021.
Nearly 500 children in 70 teams took part in the challenge and presented their visions. But that’s not all – the 17 best teams will compete again in March in the national competition, where one team will win the right to represent Lithuania in the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge in the United States.
Change begins now
Over the last 700 years, Vilnius and the entire world have changed beyond recognition. In Lithuania’s capital, new technologies, vehicles, lifestyles and traditions have redrawn the territories and infrastructure of the city Gediminas once knew. The next 700 years will also undoubtedly bring enormous change, but it’s never too late to prepare for it. After all, locals and guests will always need to move around. As such, the theme for the 2021 FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge was mobility. The young participants had to rack their brains to think of the mobility challenges Vilnius might face in the future, and how to deal with those challenges.
The city is in the hands of young people
Almost 500 children ages 4-16 from all over Lithuania took part in the already traditional FIRST® LEGO® League global competition. This was a great opportunity for young people interested in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts to apply their knowledge in real life and discover new areas of interest. The teams worked with equipment and programming languages of varying degrees of complexity. Every year, millions of schoolchildren from 110 countries around the world take on the project and practical tasks in the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge, which gives them a chance to try out innovations, learn to work together and start thinking about the future they want to live in.
Everyone’s ideas are valuable
The event was open to anyone who wanted to dream and give shape to their thoughts, regardless of their age. Participants were divided into three age groups – Discover, for kindergartens ages 4-6; Explore, for primary school pupils ages 6-10; and Challenge, for children in secondary school ages 10-16. The participating teams received the equipment they used for the projects as gifts in honour of Vilnius’ upcoming birthday, so they will be able to continue to improve and design even more interesting visions.