LEGOs, Robots, and Kids, Oh My!

LEGOs are more than toys. Robots are serious business. And math and science can be fun. Don't believe me? Check out an interesting demonstration at UH tomorrow afternoon. Mathematics professor Monique Chyba will be showing off underwater robotic vehicles created with LEGOs.

Those interlocking blocks beloved by kids around the world first appeared in Denmark in 1947, but they've come a long way since then. LEGOs have long stirred the imaginations of kids and adults alike, but in recent years they've also become the preferred platform for technological innovation... specifically in the area of robotics.

Tomorrow's presentation by Professor Chyba at Campus Center is just the tip of the multicolored plastic iceberg. Around the world, LEGOs, robots, science, technology and kids are together creating a potent mix of talent and innovation. There's the national Botball competition for high school kids, and the international FIRST LEGO League for younger kids. It's mind-boggling what these youngsters are coming up with using the same, relatively simple components.

And, I've just learned, Botball is coming to Hawaii. The national conference is coming to the Hawaii Convention Center on July 10-13, 2007. Keep an eye on the just-launched RoboticsHawaii.com website for more updates.

Thanks, Lynn Fujioka, for the heads up!