CHARLOTTESVILLE (WINA) – The Charlottesville Qualifier of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge will take place on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville. The competition will feature 18 teams representing home school, public school and independent school students from across Virginia. Teams include students in Grades 6, 7, and 8. The FIRST LEGO League Challenge is a research and robotics tournament for students ages 9 to 16.

The annual competition series encourages students to plan, construct and program an autonomous robot, conduct research on a topic of their own and prepare a presentation of their findings.

Teams in the top three will advance to the state level at the VA-DC FIRST LEGO League Challenge Championship December 9 and 10 at JMU.