Tampa, Florida, has some of the best K–12 schools in the area for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), including Hillsborough County Public Schools. Local colleges, like Hillsborough Community College, also support STEM.

Hillsborough Community College has long been committed to K-12 educational initiatives, making a partnership with FIRST LEGO League a natural fit.

“Hillsborough Community College is proud to be a partner with FIRST Lego League and extremely fortunate to be the home for the West Florida Region. As an attendee at the tournaments, I see the excitement, passion and extraordinary enthusiasm by girls and boys in the robotics competitions and it is truly incredible,” said Nancee Sorenson, Ed.D., president, Hillsborough Community College Brandon Campus.

Through the Suncoast FIRST LEGO League, you and your kids can combine STEM and LEGO building blocks!

“The creativity involved in building a functioning piece of equipment is something that benefits students wherever they are and whatever their program,” Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins said.

That “piece of equipment” is a robot! The FIRST LEGO League is a global robotics competition that challenges kids to solve a real-world problem—like food safety or recycling—by designing, building, and programming a robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS®. The Suncoast FIRST LEGO League is one of five other FIRST LEGO Leagues in Florida.

Cool, right? And looking at the photos below of the Suncoast FIRST LEGO League informational meeting from this past weekend, it’s probably hard to contain your excitement over STEM! Your kids get to play with LEGO, make friends, and learn valuable life skills as you cheer them on. Interested? There’s still time to form your own team, or join an existing team.

Frontier Communications® is committed to our local communities and supporting STEM initiatives, and we wish all the teams the best of luck during this year’s FIRST LEGO League competition!