BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT –Bethel School District is once again the proud host of the regional FIRST LEGO League “Senior solutions challenge.” More than 300 students are expected to participate in this year’s event on Dec. 8 at Spanaway Middle School.  As part of the challenge, students will be asked to demonstrate their solutions for keeping Seniors Independent, Engaged and Connected in their communities.

The competition caps off an eight-week period where students researched and worked on their designs. As part of the project, student teams will consider many issues facing seniors, such as getting around, keeping in touch and staying fit. They will also be tasked with building, testing and programming a LEGO MINDSTORMS robot to solve a set of missions on an obstacle course.

About 30 teams are expected to participate. Judges will assess their work in four major areas: project presentation, robot performance, technical design and programming of robot, and teamwork. The highest honor will go to the team that best exemplifies the spirit and values of the program.

FIRST LEGO League is an international program for 9 to 14 year old children, which was created in a partnership between The LEGO Group and FIRST, an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen. About 200,000 children, representing over 60 countries are expected to take place in the program this year.

The tournament is sponsored by Bethel School District and the Intel Corporation.  For more information about the Senior Solutions Challenge visit, http://firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2012seniorsolutions.

Bethel’s Career Technical Education department is looking for volunteers to assist in judging this competition. No experience is required. To volunteer, contact CTE at 253.683.6945.