SCIENTISTS of the future will be taking part in ‘space missions’ in Widnes.

One of nine regional heats of the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge takes place at Catalyst Science Discovery Centre on Wednesday, May 25.

The event will host seven teams competing for a place at the national finals in Coventry on June 23.

Students aged 11 to 14 will be introduced to real-world engineering, technology, robotics and computing challenges.

The programme aims to help students put their school learning into context and discover exciting new careers.

Each of the 100 schools taking part received free LEGO® MINDSTORMS® resources worth £2,000.

Teams have learnt how to build, program and control these autonomous LEGO robots to complete a series of short, exciting space missions.

Students have also had to research, design, plan and present their own solution to a contemporary scientific problem - developed by LEGO Education with NASA.

They will be demonstrating the skills they’ve learned at these challenge events held around the country.

Research from EngineeringUK, who run the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge, shows that communicating engineering careers to young people is vital for the future of the British economy.

Chief executive of EngineeringUK Paul Jackson said: “In order to meet the country’s demand for engineers we need to double the number of graduates and apprentices entering the engineering industry.

“This challenge aims to help young people from all backgrounds understand the variety, excitement and opportunity presented by a career in engineering.”