Event to Take Place at Longwood High School on Sunday, March 3 Following a series of qualifiers, 39 FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO® League teams from Nassau and Suffolk Counties are set to compete at the Long Island Championship at Longwood High School on Sunday, March 3. During the event, presented by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI), students ages nine to 14 will present their LEGO robots to address the challenge set forth in this year’s theme – FIRST INTO ORBIT^SM.

These teams were among the more than 200 that worked hard this season to research, design, build, program and test LEGO robots that address a problem astronauts have faced during space travel. Students evaluated current solutions to the problem they identified, and designed, built and tested an innovative solution using a LEGO MINDSTORMS® kit.

Students presented their solutions during one of six qualifier tournaments that were held at Mineola High School and Huntington High School in late January and early February. At the Championship, these teams will look to advance to the FIRST World Festival in Detroit on April 24-27.

This will be the 15th year that FIRST LEGO League has enabled students on Long Island to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) through building and problem-solving. In addition, 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the SBPLI Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. FIRST’s history and long-lasting impact on Long Island will be honored at all events this year.

“It’s wonderful to see so many students getting excited about the FIRST LEGO League challenge this year,” says Stephanie Stern, Program Co-Director and FIRST Long Island representative. “I was so impressed by each team’s performance during the qualifiers and enjoyed seeing how many skills they picked up by participating in the program—everything from teamwork to Gracious Professionalism® to STEM education. I can’t wait to see what the students bring to the championship. Join us between 10 am and 2 pm, there is no admission fee.”

The following 39 teams have advanced to the SBPLI Long Island FIRST LEGO League Championship, which will take place on Sunday, March 3 at Longwood High School: