jhancock@journalnet.com

POCATELLO - Lori Anderson, a teacher at Inkom Elementary School, said involving her students in a Lego robotics competitions is a costly endeavor, but worth the educational value.

"It's an extracurricular activity, but we also do it in class as part of our science work," said Anderson, who teaches a class of fourth- and fifth-graders combined.

Her student were in Idaho State University's Pond Student Union Building on Saturday competing in the 2008 First Lego League regional qualifier.

"We have two teams with 10 members each," Anderson said.

Inkom Elementary's ability to get involved with the competition came through a grant last year from Idaho State University, which sponsors the event. The grant paid for two Lego robot kits and registration for both teams, more than $1,000 total, she said.

"It can be expensive," Anderson said. "The entry fee paid to First Lego is $200 per team. The robots themselves are about $350 each. They can also require a laptop (computer) to program them sometimes."

Lawrence Beaty, an instructor and associate director of the Energy Systems Technology and Education department at ISU, coordinated Saturday's event, which he said featured more than 50 teams from throughout Eastern Idaho and Northern Utah.

"This is the biggest (Lego robotics) competition in Idaho," he said. "We should send about 26 teams to the state competition next month."

Beaty said the goal of First Lego is to inspire kids to be involved with science, engineering, technology and mathematics. Saturday's competition actually involves four different areas, each of which received equal weight toward the final score.

Each team is judged on its technical design, team cooperation, a set of tasks the robot must perform and a research project, the focus of which for this year was the climate.

Using a computerized controller, the teams must preprogram their robot to complete each task and return to its base, requiring the students to do several calculations.

The teams are made of members ranging in age from 9 years to 14 years. Beaty said teams are based in every type of school, including public, private, charter and home-based. He said there are also several teams comprised of kids who simply have the common interest regardless of which school they attend or their age.