Contact:

Source: Bruce Schafer, Director, OUS Industry Affairs; Office: 503-725-2915; Cell: 503-332-4666
Contact: Cathy Swider, Project Administrator, OUS; Office: 503-725-2920; Cell: 971-219-1020

Tournament features fun activities & 120 top youth teams competing with their custom robots

WHEN:
Saturday, January 16th and Sunday, January 17th, 2010, 9:30 am–2:30 pm. Open and FREE to the public.

WHER:
Liberty High School gymnasium, 21945 NW Wagon Way, Hillsboro, Oregon

WHAT:
Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League 2009 State Championship Tournaments, Presented by Rockwell Collins.  Families, the general public, and reporters are invited to attend the championship tournament, participate in fun hands-on robotics activities sponsored by Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), and watch working robots built by the top 9-14 year olds teams who have won 2009 qualifying tournaments. These teams have used off-the-shelf LEGO robotics kits to construct ingenious working robots, which complete as many missions as possible on a 4-foot by 8-foot playing field. The teams also present research projects addressing modes of transportation, discuss technical aspects of their research with judges, and show their stellar teamwork skills.

Each year FIRST LEGO League (FLL) defines a challenge that drives team activities. In this year's Smart Moves challenge, the 2008 FIRST LEGO League teams embarked on an exploration of transportation, researching how people, places, goods, and services travel in the safest, most streamlined ways possible. Each team researches one mode of transportation, identifying its challenges and possible technical solutions.

Volunteers affiliated with the OMSI will give visitors an opportunity to create a small bouncing, dancing, buzzing machine or a mechanical toy that jumps & spins.

WHO:
Oregon technology corporations and industry associations collaborate with the Oregon University System and major youth organizations to implement the program to help young people get excited about studying science and engineering. Oregon has the highest numbers of students per capita participating in FIRST LEGO League than any state. In December 2009, 320 teams and more than 2,000 students participated in qualifying tournaments in Oregon and SW Washington. The top 30% of these teams will compete at the January 16th and 17th championships. Each team is made up of four to ten students ages 9-14 who are given about 12 weeks to prepare for the tournament, including construction, design, and programming of the robot, and completion of the required scientific research. 

Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program (ORTOP) is a program of the Oregon University System. ORTOP thanks Intel, the title sponsor, as well as Rockwell Collins, RadiSys, TechAmerica, and all other sponsoring corporations and partner organizations.
For more information go to: http://www.ortop.org

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