The robots are baaacckk!

Members of the Blue Angels team work on their robot during the First Lego League Regional Semifinals at Shoreline Community College on Jan. 17, 2015. Photo gallery

Middle- and elementary-age students from across Western Washington gathered at Shoreline Community College, Jan. 17-18, 2015 for the First Lego League Western Washington Semifinal Tournament.

First Lego League is a robotic competition and sponsored in Washington by Washington First Robotics, organized to engage young people in science and technology. The semifinal event at Shoreline was one of two in Western Washington with the other in Lacey, Wash.

Shoreline is well-known for its science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. The college hosts a number of STEM-focused events during the year, including the Shoreline STEM Festival, the Shoreline Math Olympiad, Project Biotech summer camp and others.

Participants in First Lego League have three primary activities that culminate in a competition with other teams at a regional tournament:

• Build and program a small robot to accomplish challenges,
• Investigate a research topic then prepare a presentation and
• Build a team

About 30 percent of the teams at the semifinal tournaments will advance to the Western Washington State FLL Championship tournament on Jan. 31, 2015 at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.

This was the second First Lego League event hosted at the college in recent months. League officials have indicated they enjoyed the experience and would like to return. Science Dean Susan Hoyne, CNC Machining program career navigator Michelene Felker, outreach coordinator Amy Stapleton, rentals manager Suzanne Gugger with terrific support from staff in Facilities, Safety & Security and many others helped make the events possible.