On Saturday, Feb. 3, a team from Gorham Middle School will be one of thirty-one teams competing in the FIRST LEGO League Competition at the Brewer Community School. Students from around the state have been working in the areas of research, design and programming to develop their leadership and technical skills in a playful way, as well as discover their creative passions since last August. The event is free and open to the public.

FIRST LEGO League gives participating students an age-appropriate introduction to the exciting areas of STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), in which they learn to program LEGO robots and ask themselves questions about society as a whole. At the same time, their communication skills and teamwork qualities are promoted, because the tasks are solved as a team.

This year’s FIRST LEGO League season, themed “MASTERPIECE,” challenges teams to find creative ways to inspire others about their hobbies and interests. As they interact with experts in museums, theaters and other creative fields, they learn from people with artistic professions about how to express themselves and engage and entertain diverse audiences.

This event is sponsored by the Robotics Institute of Maine, in partnership with the Brewer School Department and the Brewer High School Robotics Team, Orange Chaos.