URBANA, Ill. -- Kids are learning science with Legos. Saturday they were putting their skills to work at the Lego League Regional Competition.
Eleven year-old Elizabeth Singer wants to be a mechanical engineer when she grows up. She said that's why she's in Lego League.
"It helps you with building and following up if something's wrong with it, and then continuing to work on it," she said.
She's part of And Brains Too, an all-girls team competing on Saturday.
"It's not like in class where the teacher gives you a problem and you've got a set way to solve it," said parent Andy Singer. "It's completely open and up to you."
Saturday's problem concerned food safety. Kids used research and technology to find ways to keep food from harmful bacteria. Part of the challenge was also building Lego robots.
"We have confidence that we'll do really well," said And Brains Too teammate Lia Dankowicd.
Dankowicd said the biggest lesson she's learning is teamwork.
"You have to learn how to compromise more," said Dankowicd. "Sometimes everyone doesn't want to do the exact same thing."
Parents said Lego League teaches kids skills and shows them science can be cool.
"It's not just for nerds in the classroom," said Singer. "It's really a lot of fun."
The girls in And Brains Too advanced along with seven other teams. They will be perfecting their projects over the next month until the Lego League State Competition in January.
