LEGOs aren’t just for making boats and houses anymore. Think robots instead. At a tournament on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Ripley Center, you can watch teams that are competing to create robots that help solve transportation problems in their communities.

Of course, the robots aren’t made of traditional plastic LEGO pieces. Instead, the teams of 9- to 14-year-old students use MINDSTORMSTM technology. Their assignment, received in September, is to identify a problem with the way people, animals, information, or things travel in their community; create a solution, and share it outside the team. Then they apply robotics, sensor technology, and fresh thinking to solve the problem. In the process, they learn about efficiency planning, object avoidance, climbing steep bridges with no guard rails, passenger transport, and crash tests.

Each September, FIRST LEGO teams across the world get a new challenge. For the next eight weeks, the teams strategize, design, build, program, test and refine an autonomous robot. The teams search the Web, talk to scientists, visit the library, and develop presentations based on the research assignment, which relates to the challenge. The teams also are evaluated in two other areas, teamwork and robot design.

This is the inaugural FIRST LEGO League tournament at the Ripley Center. Top teams from this regional tournament will advance to the championship at James Madison University on Dec. 5 and 6. FIRST was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.

The tournament at the Smithsonian is an expansion of The Smithsonian Associates summer workshops. Workshops for the 2010 summer season will likely include basic and advanced robotics and rocketry.

The event is free and open to the public. Opening ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m., with robot rounds and judging beginning at 11 a.m.

QUICK TIX CODE: LEGO