Florida Department of Education officials continue to encourage schools to emphasize science technology engineering and math, or STEM, programs.

One local school did just that this weekend, hosting a Lego competition! More than fourteen teams from around northwest Florida came out Saturday for the first Lego League regional championship tournament held at the Covenant Christian Academy. Each team was competing for five spots at the state competition in Tallahassee later this year.

The students learn how to work together, programming their robots to complete a number of tasks in an obstacle course. The kids say seeing the entire process through, from the design phase to competition, is an invaluable experience.