New this season, family engagement activities are available for every FIRST^® LEGO^® League Discover session! Available on the Season Resources page, the activities are intended as fun, at-home activities for your students and their families to complete together. You can print out the activity page and send it home before or after each session – or share them in the way that works best for you and your families.

During the 2023-2024 arts-inspired MASTERPIECE^SM challenge, part of the overarching FIRST^® IN SHOW^SM presented by Qualcomm season, we are celebrating the role STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) plays in the arts, and innovating new ways to communicate art across the globe. The session activities will guide you and your families in exploring this year’s theme and creating a world of endless possibilities!  

The Family Engagement Activity Log is included if you wish to use it as a way for your families to track their completion of the activities. You can also use it for families to ask questions or share comments with you. Research shows that students who have families that see themselves as partners with their teachers are more likely to be successful. 

Before starting the Family Engagement activities, introduce your families to FIRST LEGO League Discover with these family resources. Be sure to check out this Templated Messaging to help you communicate the program with your families.  

Spanish language versions of these resources will soon be available.

Stay tuned for more hands-on Family Engagement activities coming soon!  

We can’t wait to see what you create! Share your builds with us on social media using #MASTERPIECE and don’t forget to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!  

The MASTERPIECE^SM season is full STEAM ahead! Are you and your teams excited to prepare for and play the Robot Game? We would like to share a community-created resource with FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge teams to provide tips and tricks for building the MASTERPIECE Mission Models.

Each of the missions (and Mission Models!) provides teams with inspiration for possible solutions to your Innovation Project. Be sure to check out the Innovation Project Update, as this may provide additional support. You and your team will learn from four experts and discover the technology they use in their jobs. Don’t forget to watch the MASTERPIECE Career Connections for more inspiration!  

To build the mission models, use the LEGO^® elements from your Challenge Set and building instructions. Find the MASTERPIECE Mission Model Building Instructions here. 

The robot interacts with the mission models on the field for points. The mission models are built in Sessions 1-4 in the Team Meeting Guide and Engineering Notebook. You can complete the missions in any order. It is important to remember to build the models as accurately as possible because practicing with incorrect models may cause problems.  

For more guidance on building this season’s models, check out this community resource. Thank you to our friends from FLLTutorials.com, who shared this amazing resource with us! 

Do you have any tips or resources that we can share with the community? If so, please contact us and we may be able to share them here.  

We can’t wait to see what #MASTERPIECE you create this season! Share your season journey on social media using #MASTERPIECE. Good luck, teams! 

Calling all innovators! Have you wondered how you can use your artistic skills and creativity in your future career? Hear from experts in the field and learn how your passions can become your career. Check out our Career Connections playlist, available now on YouTube!  

Meet some of the experts who helped shape the FIRST® LEGO® League MASTERPIECE^SM season: 

• Scarlet Wilderink is the Associate Puppetry Director and Puppeteer at Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre in London, England. See how Scarlett uses technology and art in her job.  
• Liva Hinnerfeldt is a Theater Painter at Aarhus Theater in Aarhus, Denmark. Liva talks about her career and gives advice to teams participating in this arts-inspired season. 
• Hend Mansour is an Energy Engineer and Artist and discusses the technologies she uses to create her art and what advice she has for teams exploring the connection between STEM and the arts this season. 

This year’s season theme is all about big ideas, bold action – and creativity. This season we are celebrating the role STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) plays in the arts, and teams will work together to innovate and build a future of endless possibilities. A future where you can choose your passions, hobbies, and interests to be a part of your career.  

Stay tuned for two more videos coming soon! 

What career do you want to pursue in the future? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!  

By: Kim Wierman, Sr. Director – FIRST LEGO League

Last fall, FIRST^® Robotics Competition shared a blog reminding our community of the resources available to help protect our youth. 

As teams are reforming for the new season, we want to remind you to take time to make sure all team members, adults and youth, understand their role in creating a safe environment. 

Start with the FIRST^® Youth Protection webpage and FIRST Youth Protection guide. Make sure everyone understands the FIRST Code of Conduct and Reporting Requirements as well as where to Report a Concern. Safeguarding youth is everyone’s responsibility, so if you “See something, Say something!” Anyone that observes something inappropriate or experiences something that makes them uncomfortable should report the behavior to a trusted adult; whether that is a mentor, coach, event volunteer, or FIRST Youth Protection. 

Individuals who fail to adhere to the Code of Conduct or FIRST Youth Protection policies may be excluded from working in FIRST programs and at FIRST events. 

Each US and Canada-based FIRST team is required to have at least two adult mentors who have passed Youth Protection screening prior to being able to register for events. All adults who regularly work with youth team members should also complete a Youth Protection background screen. Adults who have not obtained Youth Protection Clearance may only work with teams under the close direction of a lead coach/mentor or a screened adult designee. It is recommended that any adult regularly involved in a team’s activities (I.e. involved in 30% or more of the team’s activities) complete Youth Protection screening and training. Lead mentors are responsible for determining whether other adults are “regularly involved” and can invite them to be screened from their Team registration dashboard by selecting “Request Screening” (see screenshot example below).” 

While screening through the dashboard is only available for volunteers in the US and Canada, the other parts of the FIRST Youth Protection guide and training are applicable globally. Groups of mentors may take the training together, which can provide an opportunity to ask questions and discuss scenarios.  

Teams should also host a Team Safety Meeting early in the season, covering everything from safe tool operation to safe interactions. The FIRST Safety Manual for FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Youth Protection webpage for all programs have resources that can be used during these meetings. 

The rules that apply to in-person meetings can also apply to online communications. From page 20 of the Youth Protection guide, coaches should not initiate contact with any students via any FIRST platforms, social media, or other electronic means unless it is about a FIRST-related project or activity. When contacting youth participants about FIRST or team related activities, parents, guardians, and other team coaches/mentors should be included on the communications whenever possible/practical.

All FIRST participants and volunteers of any age may report Youth Protection Concerns, Medical Incidents, and other concerns to FIRST using the FIRST Reporting Portal, or by emailing safetyfirst@firstinspires.org. Remember that in the United States there are laws that require individuals working with youth to report known or suspected instances of child abuse and neglect. You can find a complete list of State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Numbers and other contact information.  

FIRST is always working on new youth protection training and awareness materials and we welcome feedback from coaches and mentors on what would be most useful. If you have suggestions, questions, or would like more information, please email safetyfirst@firstinspires.org. 

You can find more information, training, and guidance on the FIRST Youth Protection page.

Attention teams! We would like to share the following update with you regarding this year’s FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge MASTERPIECE^SM Innovation Project.  

This year’s Challenge asks FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge teams the question, how can you use technology and the arts to help engage others or increase participation in what you love to do? Be sure to check out the Challenge Overview for guiding questions to lead you through the Engineering Design Process. 

Are you worried you might be taking your Innovation Project in the wrong direction? Not even sure how to interpret the prompt? Don’t worry! This year’s theme is all about big ideas, bold action – and creativity. The Innovation Project (and future) is yours to create! We would like to assure all teams that your Innovation Projects are legal and will not be disqualified. The judges are looking to see where you and your team got in the Engineering Design Process and what you might do next. For more information on judging and what to expect, review the rubrics.  

Be sure to be on the lookout for upcoming Team Blasts announcing Challenge Updates, as this may answer additional questions throughout the season. Check out the Team Blast Archive for any blasts you may have missed. 

We can’t wait to see the #MASTERPIECE you create! 

What problem do you want to solve this season? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!   

Teams, it’s showtime! On Tuesday, August 1 the MASTERPIECE^SM season materials were revealed! This year’s arts-inspired theme will celebrate the roles our STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills play in the arts.   

• FIRST^® LEGO^® League Discover students (grades PreK-1) will get creative and imagine and innovate new ways to create and communicate art across the globe. 
• FIRST^® LEGO^® League Explore students (grades 2-4) will explore how people share their hobbies and interests in creative and captivating ways, and learn about different places where people share their talents or go to enjoy a show. They’ll learn how to share their own interests and build a place of their own design. 
• FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge students (grades 4-8) will learn about how we share our own hobbies and interests while learning about experts in museums, theaters, and other creative fields. Children will use critical thinking and innovation to inspire others to learn and be entertained. 

Check out our press release to read more about the season. 

We are shining the spotlight on 3 key details: 

1. All season materials are available for download on the FIRST LEGO League Game & Season page.  

2. Find the latest Challenge Updates and Clarifications and make sure to keep a lookout for team blasts and social posts as new updates will be announced throughout the season. 

3. Haven’t registered yet? Don’t worry, the stage is waiting for you! Find more information about signing up for the 2023-24 FIRST season, FIRST^®IN SHOW^SM presented by Qualcomm.   

We can’t wait to see the future you create in this year’s arts-inspired season!  

What problem do you want to solve this season? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague! 

Teams, take your places! It’s almost time to draw the curtain to reveal the MASTERPIECE^SM season! The stage is set for August 1 to debut the details of the crowd-pleasing Discover, Explore, and Challenge season. 

Here are 5 steps you can take now to get ready for the 2023-2024 FIRST^® season, FIRST^® IN SHOW^SM presented by Qualcomm. 

1. Register your team(s). This will ensure your team receives important emails from FIRST HQ and your local Program Delivery Partner. 

2. Order your Challenge and Robot Sets. Once registered, you have access to purchase a Challenge Set and get a good look at the mat layout. This might inspire some ideas for how you will navigate your robot to different areas of the mat. 

3. Set up your team meeting space. Whether you are meeting at school, a friend’s house or even remotely, set up your space so you have everything you need ready to go. Where will you set up your mat? How will you practice the art of staying organized, so you don’t lose any important pieces? Is there somewhere you can charge your robot’s battery? 

4. Seek out art experts. We know we’ll be tackling problems related to the role that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) plays in the arts, even without all the details. Use this time to start seeking out local experts. Are there theaters, art galleries, graphic design studios, or museums in your community? 

5. Practice your Core Values. The Core Values remain central to the program and do not change from year to year. Since you know teams will be judged on how well they embrace the Core Values, start learning what they are and how your team can use them as you imagine and innovate new ways to communicate art across the globe.  

We can’t wait to see the future you create in this year’s arts-inspired season!

What are you most excited about for this season? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague! 

Today’s post is by Kate Sample, a proud FIRST^® alum, coach, volunteer, former educator, and a specialist on the Education team at FIRST HQ. 

Are you a new team or class pack? Or, are you someone returning to our amazing programs this season? Either way, you can agree that it takes some budget to get things done. We have some helpful tips and tricks to consider when it comes to raising funds and what they can be used for! 

Understanding Costs:  

There are a number of required and additional, optional expenses that come with a season in FIRST LEGO League:

• Each season, you will need to register within the FIRST Dashboard and get the new season set  
• New teams will need to buy their LEGO product (sometimes returning teams want to get more as well)
• Teams will need devices to program or research and learn about the season theme 
• There may be things a coach chooses to do like team t-shirts or snacks during meetings  
• Depending on your program, you might have local event registration fees to consider 
• You may also need other items such as posters, paper, scissors, glue, paint, markers, printing or other office supplies

Finding Funding: 

Team Dues: An easy way to raise some funds for the season is to have each student pay a small amount of dues to participate. This can be as little or as much as you want. It is important to take into account the means of each student and never limit participation due to someone’s ability to pay.   

Local Sponsors: There are always local organizations and businesses that are looking to support youth in their community. Consider putting together a sponsorship packet and looking at your local chamber of commerce or even Google Maps to see what is around you and then start contacting them about supporting your team.   

Grants: Grants are often one-time funding sources that can be applied for that require a certain set of criteria. There may be local grants available through organizations or guardians’ workplaces. Corporations and organizations also partner with FIRST and provide grant opportunities for your team.    

Fundraisers: Students can look into various team fundraisers to raise the money they might need. These can be things like restaurant dine and donate nights, hosting an event like a video game night, candy sales, or providing a service to the community such as yard work.   

School Budgets: If you have a team or class pack that is part of a school, there may be an opportunity to talk to the school about using their budget for team-related expenses. We recommend talking to the teachers, administrators, and maybe even the STEM coordinator to see what resources there might be.   

Additionally, there are so many resources that you can receive in-kind. This may include food donations from a local restaurant, gift cards for materials from a store, or even a discount on your team t-shirts from the local print shop.   

Have any tips or tricks for raising funds for your team? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!  

We send email blasts from FIRST^® Headquarters to FIRST^® LEGO^® League Explore and FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge teams in the United States and Canada biweekly. Outside of the U.S. or Canada? Your local Program Delivery Partner will send information to the teams in your region.

June 2023:

• FIRST LEGO League Challenge Team Blast – June 30, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Explore Team Blast – June 30, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Challenge Team Blast- June 16, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Explore Team Blast- June 16, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Challenge Team Blast- June 2, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Explore Team Blast- June 2, 2023

FIRST^® is more than robots, and is more than science, technology, engineering, and math. All of our programs integrate across a wide variety of subject areas and have even been mapped to a variety of different education standards.

Let’s explore some of the areas we cover in our programs:

Computational Thinking and Computer Science: While computer science concepts are more geared toward FIRST^® LEGO^® League Explore and Challenge where students have the opportunity to write code for their models and robots to move, computational thinking is addressed across all divisions. Students are learning about sequence of events, how to break down complex problems into pieces, and recognizing patterns and connections between situations.   

English Language Arts: Students have the opportunity to improve their written and verbal communication while documenting and sharing their ideas throughout the season in their engineering notebooks and with their peers. They are introduced to new terminology and encouraged to use them frequently while discussing the new season theme.  

Social and Emotional Learning: The part that makes FIRST so unique is the community that we build. The culture of our programs along with our rooted Core Values encourages students to develop their self-awareness, improve their responsible decision-making, and communication with peers. 

Check out the full set of standards alignments for each of the FIRST LEGO League divisions.

Which subjects do your students enjoy the most? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!  

We send email blasts from FIRST^® Headquarters to FIRST^® LEGO^® League Explore and FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge teams in the United States and Canada biweekly. Outside of the U.S. or Canada? Your local Program Delivery Partner will send information to the teams in your region.

June 2023:

• FIRST LEGO League Challenge Team Blast- June 16, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Explore Team Blast- June 16, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Challenge Team Blast- June 2, 2023
• FIRST LEGO League Explore Team Blast- June 2, 2023

Two solstices happen each year – one in June and one in December.  The solstice is the day with the least amount of daylight in winter and the most amount of daylight in the summer.  In June, the Northern Hemisphere experiences its summer solstice and the Southern Hemisphere the winter solstice.  Stonehenge, in England, has a special relationship with the solstice, with the sun lining up perfectly with openings in the stones on those days each year.  Break out your Six Bricks and explore more about the solstices and Stonehenge as a family!  You can use a Discover More set, other LEGO^® or LEGO^® DUPLO^® bricks, or you can choose your own building materials for these short, fun activities for the whole family. 

• Build It!: Create your own monument with your Six Bricks.  You can stack your bricks like the Stonehenge stones or create your own design.  Where will the sunrise or sunset line up on your monument? 
• Say It!: Now think about the people who use or visit your monument.  Are they from the past, present, or future?  What do they celebrate there?  Tell a story that explains what people do when they visit your monument.  You might think of a silly way to celebrate your favorite things.  Maybe your monument was built for children who like milk and they do a cow-milking dance when they visit on World Milk Day (June 1).  Perhaps it was built to celebrate International Sushi Day (June 18) and families must pretend to be sushi by rolling on the ground.   

Take your play a step further by adding these activities and playing the Discover More Game, adding new building materials, expanding your builds, and coming up with your own activities playing together however your family likes to have fun. 

Share your builds with us by tagging @FIRSTLEGOLeague on social media.

Get ready for a summer of hands-on learning with FIRST^® LEGO League! Campers will complete activities and challenges that will use their critical thinking, teamwork, and coding skills. We have created FIRST LEGO League Camp Guides to give you everything you need to run a half- or full-day weeklong STEM/robotics camp for students in each division!

This Camp Guide was designed using the LEGO SPIKE product line and correlating FIRST LEGO League division content. So what can you expect for each division?

FIRST LEGO League Discover camp is designed to introduce campers to the fascinating world of learning through play. Campers are introduced to the fundamentals of STEM while working together to solve fun challenges and building models using LEGO^® DUPLO^® bricks. They will experiment and grow their confidence, critical thinking, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning.   

This summer camp is designed to be five days in length and 4 hours per day with hands-on activities, team experiences, building challenges, and fun! This camp is geared towards PreK to Grade 1 students.   

FIRST LEGO League Explore camp is designed to introduce campers to the fascinating world of robotics. This camp exposes campers to programming robotics with block-based coding software, building robots, and problem solving. The campers will experience project-based learning, hands-on activities, engineering design process, and teamwork.   

This summer camp is designed to be five days in length and 4 hours per day with teambuilding activities, hands-on building, coding, and fun! This camp is primarily geared towards students in Grades 2-4.   

FIRST LEGO League Challenge camp is designed to introduce campers to the fascinating and technical world of robotics. This camp exposes campers to robotics with block-based coding software, building robots, robot mechanics and problem solving through completing missions. Campers will experience project-based learning, hands-on activities, leadership skills, communication, and teamwork.   

This summer camp is designed to be five days in length and involves coding lessons, solving missions, designing an innovation project, team experiences, and fun! Two sample schedules are provided for a 4-hour daily camp and a 7-hour daily camp. This camp is primarily geared towards students in Grades 4-8. 

To get your copy of the free camp guides, just fill out this form.

If you need to buy materials for the camps purchase past season FIRST^® LEGO^® League Discover, Explore, or Challenge Sets from AndyMark.

Purchase LEGO^® Education^® STEAM Park sets for your Discover camp, LEGO^® Education^® SPIKE Essential sets for your Explore camp, or LEGO^® Education^® SPIKE Prime sets for your Challenge camp.

Download past season materials, including the Team Meeting Guide, Engineering Notebook, and Class Pack Guide from the Season Resources page.

Are you planning to run FIRST LEGO League camps over the summer? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague! 

As your SUPERPOWERED^SM season comes to an end, you might be thinking about how to best organize all of your equipment for the kickoff of your MASTERPIECE^SM season in August. We’ve got some great tips on how to do just that!  

While Using Your Materials: 

Keeping Pieces from Rolling: Those pesky LEGO^® elements can have a mind of their own – just jumping off the table and rolling away on the floor – usually in a hard to reach place. The lid of the LEGO set can be used as a tray to keep pieces from rolling away. You can also try using shallow, clear plastic boxes to store all the pieces you need at that time.   

Lost and Found: As you are meeting, make sure you have a space for lost LEGO pieces. Whether it is during a meeting or as you clean up at the end, have students place any extra or found LEGO pieces in a cup. Have team members who are missing pieces come to the cup to look for them and make sure they get back to their permanent homes.  

Before Ending a Meeting:

Give Students Roles: In the real world, every great team has individuals who lead different responsibilities. Your FIRST LEGO League team is no different. Having one assigned or a schedule of rotating students responsible for clearing away and storing materials will make sure everything is squared away each time you meet.  

Keeping Things Stored Safely: 

Parts In Progress: Sometimes you won’t be able to finish all your building in one day. The last thing you want to happen is all your pieces get lost in the mass collection of LEGO. We recommend using plastic bags or containers to store any unfinished builds or assembled models and labeling them for ease.   

Everything in its Place: In order to make the most of your time together as a team, it is important to know where all your materials are so you can quickly get what you need and start rolling. Designate a storage space for the built mission models, your LEGO robot pieces, and the challenge mat/table. At the end of each meeting, make sure everything gets put back in its place so you are ready for the next meeting.   

Have any tips or tricks on storing your materials? Let us know on social media using #MASTERPIECE, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!  

Have you ever heard the saying “April showers bring May flowers?”  Break out your Six Bricks sets with your family for some flower building fun!  You can use a Discover More set, other LEGO^® or LEGO^® DUPLO^® bricks, or you can choose your own building materials for these short, fun activities for the whole family. 

• Build It!:  Create a flower from your Six Bricks.  It can represent a flower from real life or one from your imagination. 
• Remember It!: Look closely at another family member’s flower.  Then turn your back while they change two bricks in their build.  They might turn the bricks upside down or even put them in a completely different place in their flower model.  When they are finished, try to spot the differences.  Take turns so everyone has a chance to build and to guess. 

Take your play a step further by adding these activities and playing the Discover More Game, adding new building materials, expanding your builds, and coming up with your own activities playing together however your family likes to have fun. 

Share your builds with us by tagging @FIRSTLEGOLeague on social media.

Last week, thousands of students, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, and STEM supporters came together in Houston, TX, USA to celebrate the FIRST^® Championship presented by BAE Systems. The week was filled with friendly competition, exciting innovation, and lots of Gracious Professionalism^® as we commemorated the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season, FIRST^® ENERGIZE^SM, powered by Qualcomm.  

The FIRST^® LEGO^® League World Festival at the FIRST Championship hosted 108 FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge teams and 55 FIRST^® LEGO^® League Explore teams from around the world to reimagine the energy of future together with their SUPERPOWERED^SM robots, Innovation Projects, and Core Values!  

Here is the complete FIRST LEGO League Challenge World Festival Awards List: 

Champion’s Award Winner: 

FSINGENIUM Team, Sarriguren, Spain 

Champion’s Award Finalists: 

LITBOT100, Kaunas, Lithuania  

Legotronic Beavers, Torres de Elorz, Spain 

RoboRazors, Amman, Jordan 

Volunteer of the Year: 

Teresa Lanum, MS USA 

Core Values Award Winner: 

Assembly Required, Fort Myers, FL USA 

Core Values Award Finalists:  

Sharon Robo Knights, Suwanee, Georgia  

Hawks Mechanics, Tegucigalpa, Honduras  

Robo-Sapiens, Missoula, MT USA 

Innovation Project Award Winner: 

SycaGo, Holon, Israel  

Innovation Project Award Finalists: 

The Pythoneers, Dallas, TX USA 

Lego Legion, Cincinnati, OH USA 

The Tech Wrecks, Cedar Park, TX USA 

Robot Design Award Winner: 

Silent-X Assassins, Penang, Malaysia  

Robot Design Award Finalists:  

Team 4.0.4, Falun, Sweden 

Robotics For Life (RFL), Moulay Yacoub, Morocco  

Play 4 Energy, Almaty, Kazakhstan  

Robot Performance Award Winner:  

FSINGENIUM Team, Sarriguren, Spain 

Robot Performance Award Finalists: 

Legotronic Beavers, Torres de Elorz, Spain 

Silent-X Assassins, Penang, Malaysia  

FREES, Gyeonggi, South Korea 

Engineering Excellence Award Winners:  

The Gummy Bears, Westford, MA USA 

SESI CLP, Campo Limpo Paulista, Brazil 

Tiger Techs (Black), Sharon, PA USA 

Rising All-Star Award Winners: 

Programming Pickles, Toquerville, UT USA 

Tongue River Middle School Deceptacons, Ranchester, WY USA 

The Building Beasts, Jerome, ID USA 

Breakthrough Award Winners:  

6tron, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay  

Team Hedemolle, Bjerringbro, Denmark  

Enerdronics, Clarksville, MD USA 

Motivate Award Winners:  

Izidumbu, Budapest, Hungary  

Haffouz Heroes, Kairouan, Tunisia  

Dragon Racers, Huntington, NY USA 

Peer Award Winner: 

Legotronic Beavers, Torres de Elorz, Spain 

Coach/Mentor Award Winner: 

Lauren Gaskill, Team Sunny Delights, Mishawaka IN USA 

Alberto Gomes da Silva, Team SESI CLP, Campo Limpo Paulista, Brazil 

Ofir Glazer, Team SycaGo, Holon, Israel  

Here is the complete FIRST LEGO League Explore World Festival Awards List: 

Volunteers of the Year: 

Nathan Coulombe, IN USA 

Nicole Coulombe, IN USA 

Challenge Solution Award  

Guzmanitos 6, Phoenix, AZ USA 

Rockin Robos, Rocklin, CA USA 

Jr Falcons, Air Force Academy, CO USA 

Superpower Dino Bites, Okeechobee, FL USA 

Mellon Kids, Peiraias, Greece 

Kipapa Cougar Cubs 1, Mililani, HI USA 

The Littlest Circuit Breakers, Salem, IN USA 

LEGO Fire Dragon, Sagamihara-shi, Japan 

Lego Leaders, Ypsilanti, MI USA 

Kråkerøy Kreativ Junior, Kråkerøy, Norway 

Thunder Energy, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea 

RoboKids, Bacau, Romania 

Cuellar LEGO Elites, Dallas, TX USA 

Coding Award  

Trouble Makers, Fremont, CA USA 

Pythons, Clarksburg, MD USA 

Supernova, Acton, MA USA 

Mapaches ALR, Hermosillo, Mexico  

Lego Savages, Tecumseh, OK USA 

The Brick Titans, Muntinlupa City, Philippines 

Saudi Maker – JR, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

The Creative Engineers, Dubai, UAE 

Core Values Award  

Pythagoras Power Builders, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada  

Chicken Hunters, Encinitas, CA USA 

Team Soaring, Beijing, China 

Chicken Energy, Groton, CT USA 

The Cookie Crunchers, Lake Villa, IL USA 

Adeptus Mechanicus, Almaty, Kazakhstan 

ENERGYBOTS, Toluca, Mexico 

Ram Rod, Eagleville, PA USA 

Angelbots Explorers, El Paso, TX USA 

Four Talking Tacos, Fairfax, VA USA 

Yellow Giraffes, Renton, WA USA 

Team Model Award  

Beep Patrol, Litchfield Park, AZ USA 

EQUIPE LOBÓTICOS, Porto Alegre, Brazil 

Codebots, Westport, CT USA 

LEGO Monsters, Jacksonville, FL USA 

Energy EX, Nagakute-Shi, Aichi-Ken, Japan 

Liberal Homeschool Explore, Liberal, KS USA 

St. James Robotics Team, Baton Rouge, LA USA 

Magic Nightwing, Bloomfield Hills, MI USA 

New Energy Team, Syosset, NY USA 

New Energy Team 1, Syosset, NY USA 

WIZE Dragons, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada  

BlockPlanet Aquaman Team, Tainan City, Taiwan (R.O.C.) 

Energy wind team, Nonthaburi, Thailand 

Team Poster Award 

The Unstoppable Robogirls, Chicago, IL USA 

Abominable Brickslayers, North Reading, MA USA 

Lego Inventors, Rogers, MN USA 

RObotMANIA Junior, Bucuresti, Romania  

Congratulations to all the teams who attended this year’s World Festival! We hope to have you back next year to celebrate our arts-themed 2023-2024 season, FIRST IN SHOW^SM presented by Qualcomm.  

Here is a sneak peek as the upcoming FIRST LEGO League Challenge, MASTERPIECE^SM:

Let us know what you think by using #MASTERPIECE on social media! 

April is the month of FIRST® Championship, including the FIRST LEGO League World Festival.  At this event, FIRST LEGO League Explore teams show off their models and posters, while FIRST LEGO League Challenge, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition teams compete in games with their robots.  Break out your Six Bricks to join in the fun with your family!  You can use a Discover More set, other LEGO® or LEGO® DUPLO® bricks, or you can choose your own building materials for these short, fun activities for the whole family. 

• Build It!:  Use your Six Bricks to build a robot you could use in one of the FIRST Championship games.  Use your imagination to describe your robot to your family.  What fantastical features or attachments does your robot have?  How will it score points in one of the FIRST games? 
• Choose It!:  Design your own game to play with Six Bricks.  You might borrow the rules from another game you already know how to play or come up with something completely new.  Teach your family how to play and then try it out. 

Take your play a step further by adding these activities and playing the Discover More Game, adding new building materials, expanding your builds, and coming up with your own activities playing together however your family likes to have fun. 

Share your builds with us by tagging @FIRSTLEGOLeague on social media.

We are now only days away from the 2023 FIRST^® Championship presented by BAE Systems in Houston, Texas, USA! Teams from across the globe will be coming together to celebrate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and innovation. The 2022-2023 season, FIRST^® ENERGIZE^SM, powered by Qualcomm, empowers FIRST teams to reimagine the future of energy together. Join us as we celebrate our teams and their accomplishments at FIRST Championship April 19 through April 22. For more information, check out the championship website.   

All good things must come to an end, but that only means we get to prepare for what comes next! We’re preparing the spotlight to reveal the 2023-2024 cross-program FIRST season theme (watch a sneak peek) on Saturday, April 22. Catch the season reveal live at 2:30 pm ET during the 2023 FIRST Championship presented by BAE Systems Closing Celebration show. You will also get a sneak peek at the 2023-2024 Challenge on the FIRST LEGO League social media channels later in the afternoon on April 22! All FIRST Championship streaming links will be available at firstinspires.org/watch. 

For those joining us in Houston, take part in a fun and collaborative build as we put together a large LEGO^® mosaic to celebrate the SUPERPOWERED^SM season. The more we build, the closer we get to revealing our next Challenge! Find more information in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Event Guide. 

Be sure to check out the FIRST Championship Event Guide for more detailed event information. Download the FIRST Championship App for interactive maps, the event guide, team info, schedules, volunteer info, alerts, and more! Visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to download. 

Follow along and post on social media using #FIRSTCHAMP whether you’re joining us in-person or cheering on teams from home! 

Whether you are a competitive team or facilitated a Class Pack this season, your students learned so much and it is time to celebrate! We have some quick and easy tips to help you in planning your own celebration event.

Invite Everyone – Set a date and time for your celebration event and send out invitations – digital or paper. Send them to the students, their families, friends, school officials, and anyone else you think should see the amazing work of these kids.   

Prepare the Students – During the celebration, your students will have the opportunity to share all about what they learned this season. How they worked together, solved problems, learned about the theme, what they built, how they programmed, and more. It is important to let the students practice talking about their work – maybe even write notes about things they want to share.  

Have STEM Related Activities – We recommend having a variety of hands-on STEM activities that students can do with their friends and family. This way everyone can experience the fun! For a list of possible activities look here.  

Special Recognition – At the conclusion of the event, we recommend providing each student with a special certificate to celebrate their achievements.  We have some templates available in our season resources but you can also design your own to recognize certain strengths or accomplishments.   

Have you hosted your own celebration event? Do you plan to host one this season? Let us know on social media using #SUPERPOWERED, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!

Today’s post is by Kate Sample, FIRST^® Education Specialist 

Are you new to FIRST^® LEGO^® League? Maybe a coach or parent looking for just a little more knowledge to support your team? Did you know FIRST has Professional Development available in person and remotely? Read on to find out more! 

Hands-On – All our professional development offerings provide the participants with the opportunity to unbox and engage with all the materials for their program. This means building models, setting up your device, learning the basics of programming, and best practices for guiding your students through the season.  

Modeling Project Based Learning – One of the great things about the FIRST program is the opportunity to expose students to project based learning. Our trainers model this for the participants, showing how they can help their students without having all the answers. 

Our Trainers are Educators – Either currently in a K-12 classroom or retired from teaching all of our FIRST Certified Trainers have the experience of coaching/mentoring our programs and managing students, all of which they share with you.  

Focus on the Whole Program – Our programs are about #MoreThanRobots, and our professional development focuses on this! You will practice the FIRST Core Values, use the guides and program materials, program the robot similar to what the students will do through your facilitation.   

Share Your Successes and Struggles – During the sessions, all participants are encouraged to reflect, ask questions and share past experiences and advice – a diverse set of experiences and feedback is what makes our program so successful! 

You can find information about all our professional development sessions and the link to register on our website.  

Have you attended FIRST Professional Development? Do you plan to attend this summer or fall? Let us know on social media using #SUPERPOWERED, and be sure to tag @FIRSTLEGOLeague!