Türkiye's Science Heroes Competed at Fuar İzmir

 

The 21st season Türkiye finals of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge tournaments—one of the world’s largest youth and children’s organizations, held in Türkiye under the name Science Heroes Meet—took place at Fuar İzmir. The two-day tournament brought together over 600 students from 70 teams across 27 cities. Trophies were awarded to the winning teams during a ceremony attended by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Dr. Zafer Levent Yıldır.

 

Organized by the Science Heroes Association in collaboration with İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and İZFAŞ, the Science Heroes Meet / FIRST LEGO League Challenge 21st Season Türkiye Finals concluded with awards presented to top teams. This year’s tournament, held under the theme SUBMERGED – Ocean Explorers, welcomed approximately 5,000 children and youth from 500 teams. After 17 local tournaments, 70 teams from 27 cities competed in the finals for a chance to qualify for international tournaments.

 

Awards Presented to Winning Teams

Teams explored challenges faced by ocean explorers and developed innovative solutions. They also built and programmed robots to complete missions designed with LEGO models to reinforce the concepts. Awards were presented to the top-performing teams in a formal ceremony. In the "Inspiration Award" category, Deputy Mayor Dr. Zafer Levent Yıldır presented the award to the IBB Tech Pendik team. Professor Dr. Sıddıka Semahat Demir, Chairperson of the Science Heroes Association, thanked İzmir Metropolitan Municipality for its support and presented a plaque to Yıldır.

 

Yıldır: "You Are the Future of This Country"

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Zafer Levent Yıldır emphasized that young people are the future of both the country and the world:

 

“We are experiencing new things, and a new world is being built. There are entirely new concepts in this world. You are the future of İzmir, the country, and the world. You must understand all of this well and act accordingly. Sustainability is very important. A solution we find today may become our biggest problem tomorrow. You need to deeply consider how to define sustainability. It’s not enough to just find a solution—it must be a sustainable one.”

 

Demir: "Hope Lies in Science"

Prof. Dr. Sıddıka Semahat Demir, Chairperson of the Science Heroes Association, said:

 

“I’ve learned so much from you all. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to every project carried out under our association’s umbrella. We believe that every step we take guided by science brings us closer to a better world. We will continue working, believing that hope lies in science.”

 

Solving Real-World Problems

More than 600 middle and high school students were supported by 150 coaches during the tournament. Participants, aged 9 to 16, formed teams of 4 to 10 members and were evaluated in two categories. Under the guidance of a coach, teams developed innovative projects addressing real-world problems within the season’s theme and proposed step-by-step solutions. Additionally, they attempted to complete mission challenges using robots they designed and programmed—within a 2.5-minute window. Nine teams qualified for international tournaments.

 

Champions of the Finals:

Champion: KRUSTY KRUBS – Private Çakabey High School

2nd Place: FLAZIA – TED Atakent College Esenyurt Campus

3rd Place: SPARK – Ordu Giresun Bahçeşehir College Enver Yücel Campus

4th Place: ROBOGOBİ – Yücel Koyuncu Science and Art Center

5th Place: ORENDA – İstek Private Uluğbey Science High School

Additionally, teams TRIDENT, ENTERPRISE JR, ROBOTAV, and YDROBOTIX also earned the right to compete in international tournaments