Can FIRST LEGO League teams improve the quality of life for seniors by helping them continue to be independent, engaged, and connected in their communities?

In the 2012 Senior Solutions Challenge, over 200,000 children ages 8 to 16 from more than 60 countries will explore the topic of aging and how it may affect a person’s ability to maintain his or her lifestyle – solving issues like getting around, keeping in touch, or staying fit. Teams will research obstacles and then suggest ways to improve the quality of life for the seniors affected.

Teams will also build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS robot to solve a set of missions on an obstacle course. Throughout their experience, teams will operate under FLL’s signature set of Core Values.

LEGO Care for Education has provided $10,000 worth of LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics sets for rookie New Zealand FLL teams wanting to enter the Senior Solutions challenge this year but are unable to for financial reasons.

Interested schools and other groups should contact kiwifirst.org for details.