What is FIRST LEGO League?  (From firstinspires.org)

Tomorrow’s innovators practice imaginative thinking and teamwork. Guided by two or more adult Coaches, FIRST LEGO League teams research a real-world problem such as food safety, recycling, energy, etc., and are challenged to develop a solution. They also must design, build, program a robot using LEGO Spike Prime, then compete on a table-top playing field.

It all adds up to tons of fun while they learn to apply science, technology, engineering, and math concepts (STEM), plus a big dose of imagination, to solve a problem. Along their journey, they develop critical thinking and team-building skills, basic STEM applications, and even presentation skills, as they must present their solutions with a dash of creativity to judges. They also practice the Program’s Core Values, which emphasize discovery, teamwork and good sportsmanship.

Eligibility:

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is a competitive “sport of the mind” for teams of 2-10 builders, ages 9-14 (grades 4-8).

FLL topic:

This year’s FLL season is “UNEARTHED”, so kids will be learning about archeology.

FLL is not just about the robot:

The “Robot Game” (in which the robot performs missions) is the most visible part of FLL, but not most of the scoring.  Teams are always judged in an additional three areas:  Robot Design, Core Values, and the Innovation Project.  The four areas are weighted equally.

The Core Values are teamwork, inclusion, impact, fun, discovery and innovation. Teams must demonstrate how they embody the Core Values to the judges at competition.

The Innovation Project is a substantial undertaking. Builders need to research the year’s topic (something related to archeology), identify a problem, and propose a solution for that problem.  They’ll consult with experts and/or people affected by the problem. They’ll present their work to the judges in a five minute oral presentation, along with supporting written documentation.

Team meetings will be distributed between work on the Robot (mix of Design and Game) and the Innovation Project. We’ll often start with a Core Values exercise, and we’ll practice our Core Values in everything we do. Individual team members may focus more on one part of the work than on another, but all team members must contribute to all areas, including the presentations of the team’s work to the judges. Builders may also expect to spend some time working on research between team meetings at home.

FLL is not a free play LEGO Club.  We build a robot, but only for the specific missions we need to complete. Kids who join FLL to do free building with LEGOs are likely to be disappointed. 

Calendar commitment: 

The FIRST LEGO League season began on August 5th and will run through to a qualifying tournament, (likely) in mid-December. We will not know the exact date and location of our tournament until later in the season.

Teams typically meet 2 - 4 hours per week.  We will plan to meet on Tuesdays 4:30 - 5:45 pm and Saturdays 12 - 2 pm. Additional meet times may be added as the tournament draws nearer.

Costs:

Team fees will be $100 per team member to help cover registration, robots, the challenge set, one qualifying tournament, t-shirts, project supplies, and other needed materials. In addition, families will be expected to arrange their own transportation to the tournament.

Deadlines:

Submit builder applications for FLL team 70999: August 23

Receive decision about team placement: by August 30

Builder Contracts due: September 6th

Payment of team fee due: September 6th

Robot Boot Camp:

We are working to plan training sessions - potentially both during and after the competitive season - that will introduce novice builders to robotics for those that are not yet ready to be part of a competitive team.

Questions?

Please feel free to email Leslie and Simona at FLLteam70999@gmail.com