Young minds do well
Photo: OARA
Members of Vernon’s Okanagan AI & Robotics Academy pieced together second- and third-place finishes at the First Lego League (FLL) Interior Regional Competition Saturday.
Members of Vernon’s Okanagan AI & Robotics Academy pieced together second and third-place finishes at the First Lego League (FLL) Interior Regional Competition Saturday.
The young engineers proved they are among the best in the region, representing schools from across the district.
Robotics teams from the OARA Youth Innovation Lab competed at H.S. Grenda Middle School in Lake Country at the event.
In a field of 17 teams from across the BC Interior, Vernon teams took second and third place overall, along with major technical and teamwork awards.
The 2025–2026 FLL season theme, “Unearthed” combined robotics with the world of archaeology. Since August, the teams have been working to design, build and code autonomous robots capable of completing missions on a Lego field inspired by real-world archaeological discoveries.
OARA Robotics teams are comprised of students from schools across Vernon — from SilverStar Elementary, Okanagan Landing Elementary, St. James School, VSS High School, vLearn — who collaborate, solve problems and innovate as a single unit.
Students were also assisted by feedback from experts in the field of archaeology, who helped connect the “Unearthed” theme to real-world research and practice.
For more information on OARA, visit their website.