Whitfield County Schools will host the regional qualifier event for First Lego League at the Northwest Georgia College & Career Academy on Saturday.

Here is the schedule:

7:45  a.m. Doors open at the Northwest Georgia College & Career Academy

8-8:30 a.m.  Registration

8:15 a.m. Coaches Meeting

8:30 a.m. Opening Ceremonies in the Multi Purpose Room 

9 a.m. Judging begins

10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Robot Game Rounds will be running in four Rounds

2:30 p.m. An exhibition Robot Round

3 p.m. Northwest Georgia STORM Chasers presenting during judges deliberation

4-4:30 p.m. Team Recognition (official list of qualifying teams will be posted on Monday)

Families, friends, and community members are all welcome to watch eight teams of students from seven Whitfield County Schools (Antioch, Cohutta, DugGap, Eastside, New Hope, Pleasant Grove, and Varnell elementary schools) and two from Dalton Public Schools as they face nine other challengers in their region. 

The First Lego League competition this year, titled Nature's Fury, is themed around natural disasters, preparedness, safety and rebuilding.

In the 2013 Nature's Fury Challenge, over 200,000 children ages 9-16 from over 70 countries will explore the storms, quakes, waves and more called natural disasters. Teams will discover what can be done when natural events meet the places people live, work, and play. 

Competing students have identified and studied a natural disaster in relation to a specific location of their choice. Students consulted with experts and worked to find a possible solution or innovation that could help address a specific problem in their research.

Team members will deliver a five-minute presentation about this project for a panel of judges from the community. Students designed robots to compete in a robot game based on the Nature's Fury theme. Engineers from Shaw will judge robot design, engineering, and program thinking.

Student in the PIT area will display information about their projects and research, allowing community members and spectators an opportunity to view student work and ask questions. Finally, students will be judged on their professionalism and core values in the teamwork session. 

The competition includes 12 award categories and six teams will advance to the Super Regional Level coming in January. While the judging is under way, Northwest Georgia Storm Chasers will be presenting to students and families.

Pizza, drinks, and snacks will be available for purchase throughout the day.