NRF-SAEON scientists help young innovators tackle ocean challenges through FIRST LEGO League

Scientists from the NRF-SAEON Egagasini Node, Lara Atkinson, Thomas Mtontsi and Nicole Du Plessis, recently visited a group of nine primary school learners from Blouberg International School in Cape Town to support their FIRST LEGO League BIOGLOW innovation project on 19 October.

The learners, coached by Mrs Colleen Hill, a Coding and Robotics educator, were developing a concept for an ocean observation tool that could provide early warning of events such as the recent sardine mortality event along South Africa’s coastline. During the visit, the NRF-SAEON team introduced the learners to the range of remote physical monitoring tools used to observe the ocean, including autonomous gliders and Argo floats, which collect data on conditions such as temperature and salinity. The team also explained how environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling can reveal which species are present in a water sample, including viruses, and how this approach can help detect threats to marine life before they become visible.

Caption: Mrs Colleen Hill, Coding and Robotics Educator at Blouberg International School, Cape Town, with her Roboroots team of learners who participated in the FIRST LEGO League BIOGLOW competition on 24^th October 2026.

The team put their research and robotics skills to the test at the Western Cape FIRST LEGO League competition on 24th October 2026, where they placed in the Top 10 for the Robot Game. Although they did not progress to the next round, it was a remarkable achievement for a young team in which most learners were working together for the first time. Mrs Hill was also honoured with the FIRST LEGO League Coach Award in recognition of her passion and dedication to the learners. NRF-SAEON extend our congratulations to Mrs Hill on this outstanding achievement. The engagement highlights how sharing scientific knowledge with young learners can help them see how science, technology and research can be applied to real-world environmental challenges. NRF-SAEON looks forward to future collaboration with the school and others in supporting the FIRST LEGO League competitions.