LEGO®

American Dean Kamen will receive the LEGO Prize today for his passionate commitment to the non profit organisation FIRST, which he founded in 1989.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was set up to encourage an interest in science and technology among children and young people.
“It is 10 years ago we began a pilot project with FIRST LEGO League – and in the intervening years it has simply grown and grown. From just a couple of hundred participants to more than 100,000!” says Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, LEGO Owner, who will present Dean Kamen with the LEGO Prize at today’s LEGO Idea Conference.
“We are particularly proud to be able to honour Dean Kamen for his personal and untiring commitment to child development and learning. Children learn best when new knowledge is presented in play form, and in founding FIRST, Dean has created an organisation which – uniquely and through systematic, creative play – helps children and young people understand and appreciate science and technology. We say that the future belongs to our children, and Dean Kamen plays an immensely important role in creating a better future – harnessing the fantastic creativity and inventiveness that children and young people experience through involvement in FIRST programmes.”

Dean Kamen, founder and owner of DEKA Research & Development Corporation, is an entrepreneur and inventor. One of his inventions, which has caught the public imagination throughout the world, is the Segway two wheeled transporter. Dean Kamen holds more than 440 world patents, most of them in the health sector.

The LEGO Prize
The LEGO Prize was founded in 1985 and has been awarded to individuals and institutions who have made an extraordinary contribution on behalf of children and young people. The recipients have included Astrid Lindgren, Paul Newman, John Feierabend, Mario Lodi and such institutions as Associacão Santa Therinha in Brazil, The SaekDong Organisation in Korea, and Papalote Museo del Niño in Mexico City. The LEGO Prize was last awarded in 1997.
Dean Kamen receives the sum of USD 100,000, which he will pass on to the FIRST organisation, and a unique glass bowl created specially for the occasion by Steffen Dam, a Danish glass artist from Ebeltoft.

FIRST LEGO League
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) was launched in 1998 – coinciding with the launch of LEGO MINDSTORMS. FLL is an international programme for children and young people aged 9 to 16 years. The programme is a combination of hands on experiments with interactive robotic software and a project presentation. A team can consist of up to 10 persons – with the focus on team building, problem solving, creativity and analytical thinking.
Every September, FFL teams throughout the world receive a challenge, based on an authentic problem facing the world. The competition starts off at local level, progressing to regional rounds, and concluding with an international final round. This year the challenge is “Power Puzzle”, with more than 106,000 children and young people taking part.

In just over a week’s time more than 10,000 children and young people will assemble in Atlanta, USA, to participate in the FIRST World Championships and Power Puzzle Festival. Over a 2½ day period approx. 80 to 84 teams will take part in robotic tournaments, with the finals held on Friday, 18th of April.

Read more about FIRST at www.usfirst.org.