Nov 12, 2016 07:23 AM EST By Jane Reed, UniversityHerald Reporter

Most kids grew up with Legos. The brand has colorful buildings, sets, bricks, figurines and toys that ignite the imagination of young children everywhere. It is a popular toy to push the creativity, imagination, engineering and problem solving skills of young children everywhere.

And sometimes, even adults still continue to play Legos. The West Virginia University at Parkersburg is doing something similar. They are putting children and their brains to the test this weekend at WVUP.

The First Lego League Competition happened at the WVUP college campus, cites The News Center. But the kids are not there to build castles and cars. The Lego Competition has a purpose. Kids from different schools were given real world problem scenarios. The kids' roles are to find solutions for that particular scenario.

Students from the fourth grade until the eighth grade joined in. Different schools from the area competed not just with Legos but with robots, too. They programmed robots to complete their missions. This year's challenge was Animal Allies.

But there is also a competition for the younger grades, the First Lego League Junior teams were open to kids in kindergarten until the fourth grade. School staff, teachers, students, family members and friends were not the only spectators of the event. A NASA Education Specialist, named Jaime Ford, was also there. According to Ford, he hopes to find an idea or something that they will like in the Lego Competition.

Since the students are solving real world problems, this is a chance to show NASA some ideas. There is always a likely possibility that student would have a solution to save a global issue. Plus, the event allows the children to find their niche.

Playing with blocks and robots could direct them to a career in robotics, technology and other STEM career paths. Ford and everyone behind the event hopes that these students are going to take home and excel with the STEM concepts they practiced.

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