HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today at the FIRST® Championship, LEGO® Education and FIRST unveiled two new, exclusive LEGO sets created specifically for the 2019-2020 FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. and FIRST® LEGO® League season. LEGO Education also announced today that its newly released LEGO Education SPIKE™ Prime with the new SPIKE™ Prime Competition Expansion Set can be used along with LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 in FIRST LEGO League. LEGO Education SPIKE Prime and the SPIKE Prime Expansion Set can be pre-ordered today in the U.S. and will be available around the world in August 2019.
FIRST, an international youth not-for-profit, and LEGO teamed up in 1998 to create FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. with the goal to give students around the world from 6 to 16 years old* a team-oriented in-school and afterschool activity to build confidence and friendly-competition spirit while also learning STEAM skills. Through its partnership with FIRST, LEGO Education is not only committed to helping every student build STEAM skills but also to build confidence through hands-on learning and team collaboration.
“If you meet students where they are, challenge them appropriately, allow them meaningful failures, they will ultimately succeed, and this builds their confidence and desire to learn more, try more and stretch themselves and their learning,” said Esben Stærk Jørgensen, president of LEGO Education. “We believe all students can gain confidence in STEAM through hands-on learning. We are excited for all FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. participants to build their confidence in learning while competing with our newest architecture-themed sets and now with the addition of our intuitive and adaptive LEGO Education SPIKE™ Prime.”
The new sets and programs for the 2019-2020 FIRST LEGO League season are based on the theme of architecture and are titled BOOMTOWN BUILD℠” and CITY SHAPER℠. The 2019-2020 FIRST LEGO League Jr. BOOMTOWN BUILD Inspire set will reach more than 130,000 children, ages 6 to 10* from 41 countries and the 2019-2020 FIRST LEGO League CITY SHAPER Challenge set, which includes a new competition mat, will reach more than 320,000 children, ages 9 to 16*, from nearly 90 countries. Students are tasked with completing a challenge designed in partnership with architects and engineers and use a variety of LEGO Education products, including LEGO Education WeDo 2.0, LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 and the newly announced LEGO Education SPIKE Prime and SPIKE Prime Expansion set.
“FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League allow students to engage in the same real-world challenges that scientists and engineers face today,” said Donald E. Bossi, president of FIRST. “This coming season we’re thrilled for teams to explore city life through the architecture theme and create new, innovative solutions to improve our communities for the future. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of young students will be building problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills that are critical to their own future success.”
To learn more about FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League, visit www.firstinspires.org.
(*ages vary by country)
About FIRST
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. 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. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $80 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST®LEGO® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. for Grades K-4. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org.
About LEGO Education
LEGO® Education offers hands-on, playful STEAM learning experiences based on the LEGO® system of bricks, hardware, software and content for students and their teachers in early learning, primary, and secondary education as well as through after-school programs and competitions. These solutions create an environment for active, collaborative learning where students build skills for their future, a lifelong love for learning and confidence in their ability to learn and solve problems, setting them up for lifelong success.
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure and the SPIKE logo are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2019 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.
