Why are schools across Libya taking on FIRST?
School based FIRST teams represent their schools wherever they go, even representing their school and Libya if they make world championship events!
Not only are these opportunities exciting experiences for the competitors – participation in the competitions teaches students problem solving, public speaking, teamwork, communication, time management, science and mathematics, research and technology skills. These are skills which are not only personally rewarding to the students but also reflect very well on their school.
How?
There are several ways to get your school involved in FIRST in Libya, depending on means and students. The most common ways are:
Start a FIRST LEGO League Team – Primary School
- Discover (Ages 4 – 6)
- Explore (Ages 6 – 10)
- Challenge (Ages 9-16)
The cheapest and easiest option for schools to get involved with FIRST is participation in the FIRST LEGO League: Discover, Explore and/or Challenge. Registration for these programs include a set of themed LEGO for teams to work with.
A Challenge team can have up to 10 students and each team also requires one LEGO Mindstorms EV3 or SPIKE Prime kit (per team) which can be reused year after year. Teams attend regional qualifying events (one per season of their choice) and from there may qualify to a national championship event. The top teams in Libya then qualify for international event invitations, including the World Championships in the US.
An Explore team requires a WeDo 2.0 from LEGO Education and up to 6 students per team. Teams may attend expos hosted at venues or schools near them; alternatively, schools may hold their own expos to showcase the students work. There are also invitations each year for Explore teams to attend the World Expo in the USA.
A Discover team does not utilise an electronic componet or coding, but rather focuses on curiosity, exploration and innovation in youngsters. There are no competitions or expos; Discover is a classroom, learning-based activity. Each group of students should have a LEGO® DUPLO® Steam Park Set to work with in addition to the yearly themed Discover set from FIRST.
A Discover team does not utilise an electronic componet or coding, but rather focuses on curiosity, exploration and innovation in youngsters. There are no competitions or expos; Discover is a classroom, learning-based activity. Each group of students should have a LEGO® DUPLO® Steam Park Set to work with in addition to the yearly themed Discover set from FIRST.
These programs are currently live in all states and territories in Libya (except Canberra . . . but we are working on that!)
At FIRST Inspires (Global Site), you can find further resources to help you start and run your FIRST LEGO League team.
For additional information, Get in touch: info@LYBOTICS.com or 218 (0) 94 579 8487Start an FTC team – Lower Secondary School
An alternative to FIRST LEGO League for high school – students can join the team in year 7 and stay with it for several years. Just like FLL, FIRST Tech Challenge teams need a kit of parts from PITSCO (US based) which they can re-use each year.
There are currently official qualifying events Tripoli and Benghazi, where teams compete for the opportunity to advance to the National Championship in Brisbane (2020). The most successful teams in from the national competition will also be invited to attend the World Championships in the United States..
To get started with FIRST Tech Challenge you need to register via the LYBOTICS.com website in the "Start a Team" From then wait to be contacted.