Kids from Park Slope's P.S. 321 Place in LEGO Robot Competition

Children from all corners of Brooklyn came together last weekend to compete in a day of engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks modeled after real-life technological challenges.

At the 13th annual FIRST LEGO League Brooklyn Qualifier, 42 teams gathered at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), with more than 400 local elementary and middle school students working to advance to the next level. 

The competition "introduces kids ages 9-14 to the thrill of hands-on robotics, research, teamwork and inquiry-based problem solving, in order to spark a lifelong passion for science and technology," according to a statement. 

Twenty-three teams advanced to the next level and were recognized for a variety of honors, including children from Park Slope's P.S. 321 on Seventh Avenue. 

The NXT Lords, a team from P.S. 321, won second place in the Robot Performance category. 

This award recognizes a team that scores the most points during the Robot Game. Teams have a chance to compete in at least three 2.5-minute matches and their highest score counts. This is based on 3 rounds.

Those who placed will advance to the Citywide Championship held at the Jacob Javits Center in March.

If you want to read about other teams that placed in the competition from around Brooklyn, click here.