82 teams and 800 participants from 40 countries came to Izmir for the FIRST LEGO League Open International Turkey, the INTO ORBIT – Space Adventure themed event organized on May 22 – 25, and this four-day event created both exciting and entertaining moments.

The young inventors visiting Izmir from all around the world attended to the award ceremony held in Fuar Izmir and then they were hosted in Izmir Metropolitan Mayor’s Residence located in Varyant. Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer and his wife Neptün Soyer chatted with the young inventors and had their photos taken to remember this event.  
Team RED, an all-girl students’ team from South Korea, won the championship. Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer and Prof. Dr. Sıddıka Semahat Demir, the Chairperson of Bilim Kahramanları (Science Heroes) Association presented the award to the winners. MINDFACTORY team from Switzerland came in second and TALENTUMSAP team from Slovakia came in third in this championship.

Mr. Soyer addressed the young inventors and said: “I would like to congratulate everyone sincerely. I thank you all very much for being in Turkey. I hope you are going back home with good memories”.  
“We learned a lot from you. We have heard very interesting suggested solutions from space debris to sustainable foods for assuring physical and psychological wellbeing of the astronauts. We have witnessed robot games with extraordinary performances. Regardless of how hard you work, I advise you to enjoy the work more than the work itself” said Ms. Demir.