CONTACTS:
Catharine Lamm 603-646-3943
Kate Vonderhaar 630-605-0155

Hanover, N.H. – On Saturday, November 14, eight weeks of research and design will culminate in a high-energy, fun-filled robotics tournament hosted by Dartmouth Lego League (DLL) at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Eighteen teams from local elementary and middle schools around New Hampshire and Vermont will demonstrate their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play, sportsmanship, and sense of community.

This action-packed, day-long event is free and open to the public. The opening ceremony will be held in Dartmouth's Cook Auditorium at 9:00am. The competition will continue into the afternoon, with a closing awards ceremony at approximately 3:30pm. All are welcome to attend and witness learning, science, and teamwork in action!

Last year's tournament was a huge success:

DLL matches college student mentors with local middle school teams participating in FIRST LEGO® League. Founded by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was created to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology. Each September, FIRST LEGO® League announces its annual challenge to teams. Using LEGO MINDSTORM technologies and LEGO bricks, teams work to design, build, and program robots to solve real-world challenges.

This year's challenge, "Smart Move," calls for teams to research and present robotics technology solutions for transportation. The competition is judged in four areas: research and presentation, robot performance, technical robot design, and teamwork. Winning teams go on to participate in the New Hampshire state tournament held in Bedford, N.H., in December.

Ten Dartmouth students serve as mentors to local middle school teams, and dozens more are involved in hosting the tournament. Several Dartmouth professors, as well as community members, act as judges during the tournament. DLL is hosting this second annual tournament with generous support from the New Hampshire branch of the global engineering company BAE Systems as well as the Upper Valley Robotics Club, based at Lebanon High School.

About Dartmouth Lego League (DLL)

A Thayer School student organization, DLL matches college student mentors with local middle schools who have teams participating in FIRST LEGO® League. DLL began as a Schweitzer Fellowship project by Kristen Lurie '08 in 2007. Caitlin Johnson '10 and Kate Vonderhaar '10 are this year's co-directors.

About FIRST

Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering.