U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management Site Manager and local politician Ken Kreie went to a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) event in Colorado earlier this month.
And there were Legos.
“I have volunteered at many STEM events locally, but never a LEGO robotics competition,” Kreie said in a DOE press release, adding that he was excited before the event. “I have a vested interest in these kids. They are the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. I wanted to help stoke their excitement for learning and exploring.”
DOE Office of Legacy Management Site Manager and Fruita City Councilman Ken Kreie in a 2018 photo
| facebook.com/Ken-Kreie-Fruita-City-Council-840781232711189/
Kreie, a volunteer judge during the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Qualifying Tournament in Fruita, Colorado on Nov. 13, said in the release that the kids participating were a real inspiration.
“These kids were studying issues like global supply chain logistics and food security,” Kreie said. “Those are some big issues for small children to understand. Some teams were so inspired by their learning that they are working to implement local solutions to some of these problems.”
FIRST LEGO League is a guided, global program that introduces STEM education to students ages 4-16 through hands-on STEM experiences, no matter their technical ability or skill level. League participants are guided through a global robotics program that helps students and teachers explore the STEM needs of tomorrow and create a better future, according to the release.
This year's tournament focused on the Challenge League for students in grades 4-8. The league aims to teach participants through research, problem-solving, engineering and coding. Tackling these real-world problems helps build confidence while growing participants' knowledge and STEM learning, the release said. It also encourages them to nurture critical thinking, design and coding skills through STEM education and robotics.
“FIRST Robotics is a global nonprofit supporting STEM Education,” Mesa County Valley School District 51 STEM Community Liaison Rachelle Horner, who helped organize the event, said in the release. “FIRST LEGO League Challenge supports students ages 9-14. Students meet as a team regularly working up to the event to prepare for the tournament by programming their LEGO Robot and other associated goals.”
