Official FIRST LEGO League Jr. & FIRST LEGO League Blog

STEM Careers #IRL: Javion Mosley

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 14:00:00 GMT

Meet Javion Mosley! Javion works at FIRST^® LEGO^® League Global Sponsor Rockwell Automation and is a mentor for Team #2830 Riverside Robotigers. Javion is also a FIRST^® alum!

In addition to robotics, Javion loves to travel and experience as many new things as he can. Javion’s passion for travel and STEM even brought him to China, where he was an intern at Rockwell Automation before he started his full-time work.

Javion’s STEM superheroes are Wilbur and Orville Wright, thanks to his admiration of flight.

Javion advice to teams? Treat FIRST as part of your building blocks for your future, as the steps you take today will affect your outcome tomorrow.

STEM Careers #IRL: Pedro Alejandro Yang

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 14:56:00 GMT

Meet Pedro Alejandro Yang! Pedro has a special connection to FIRST^®LEGO^® League, as he’s a member of LEGO^®Education’s Competitions Team. Pedro works closely with our Program Delivery Partners around the globe.

Pedro is also an Olympian who played badminton in the 2004 Summer Olympics! Being an athlete requires consuming calories for energy, and a hobby Pedro enjoys is cooking recipes that famous chefs posts on YouTube.

Pedro’s STEM superhero is Woodie Flowers because he was an amazing STEM advocate and invented what we know today in the FIRST^® community as Gracious Professionalism^®.

Pedro’s advice to teams? It’s not about winning, but the learnings and friends you make in your journey.

STEM Careers #IRL: Leanne Cushing

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 15:50:00 GMT

This month, we’re highlighting some of the people who helped inspire the PLAYMAKERS^SMand RePLAY^SMseason #IRL. Check out all of their stories in the Career Connections sections of our season guides!

Meet Leanne Cushing, a FIRST^® alum and mechanical engineer that works at Bellwether Coffee. Leanne was on a FIRST^® Robotics Competition team in high school, and with the help of her mentors, learned that mechanical design was her passion.

Leanne is still building robots today with her BattleBots team, Valkyrie. You may have even seen her on TV as the team designs, builds, and competes with their 250-pound robot on the Discovery Channel!

Leanne’s STEM superhero is Bill Nye, and she admires his love of entertaining combined with his love of engineering and teaching. Bill showed Leanne that she could be entertaining, social, and brainy. He inspired a lot of her curiosity and taught her so much from a young age.

Leanne’s advice to teams? “Passion isn’t perfection. Be your own favorite version of yourself; don’t let other people tell you who to be or what you can or cannot do. Don’t talk yourself out of trying something new. Worst case, you have a new opinion or story to share”.

STEM Careers #IRL: Jay Flores

Fri, 02 Oct 2020 14:05:00 GMT

This month, we’re highlighting some of the people who helped inspire the PLAYMAKERS^SMand RePLAY^SMseason #IRL. Check out all of their stories in the Career Connections sections of our season guides!

Jay Flores is a great friend and supporter of FIRST^®. You may have recently seen him on our Instagram LIVE series “Changing the Game” powered by Rockwell Automation. In the series, Jay has live conversations with people who are changing the game in the world of sports.

Jay is a Global STEM Ambassador at FIRST^® LEGO^® League Global Sponsor Rockwell Automation. He helped design the FIRST^® Robotics Competition experience and also helped FIRST create strategies to reach more kids!

Jay is also no stranger to the small screen – he’s been on two athletic competition TV shows: Exalton Estados Unidos on Telemundo (2019) and BattleFrog League Championship on ESPN (2016).

Jay is a STEM superhero in his own right thanks to all the work he does to support FIRST and STEM education, but who are his STEM superheroes? All the FIRST LEGO League students solving real problems in their communities!

As Jay cheers on teams this season, he has one key piece of advice:
Invent the change you want to see in the world!

Get Your Season Started with these Video Resources

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 18:06:31 GMT

Are you a new coach this season, or looking for a refresher on what to expect? We think you’ll love these short introductory videos our Program Delivery Partner in the United Kingdom and Ireland, The IET, created for each division!

Check out the videos below for a walkthrough of the materials for the PLAYMAKERS^SM and RePLAY^SM season and the skills students will develop as they explore the world of sports, play, and fitness.

FIRST LEGO League Discover:

FIRST LEGO League Explore:

FIRST LEGO League Challenge:

We hope these videos help you understand what to expect this season. We’ve also created modification guidance and digital access to season materials to help you facilitate the program remotely or on a hybrid schedule.

We hope you have a great season! Share your team’s journey with us on social media using #FIRSTGAMECHANGERS and see what other teams are up to on our Community Wall.

Tips & Tricks for Building your RePLAY Mission Models

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 15:00:00 GMT

Today’s post was written by Mike Grenier, FIRST^® LEGO^® League Mechanical Engineer. We hope you find these tips and tricks helpful as you assemble your RePLAY^SM Mission Models!

Find the RePLAY^SM Mission Model Building Instructions here.

A few tips before you begin:

Make sure to take your time! All Mission Models serve a purpose/function, so improper builds can cause large flaws in the game
Make sure to grab all parts listed in the top left corner of each step.
Remember: when grabbing parts, make sure that you take note of the color and length that it calls for.
Organizing beams, axles, and other elements by length, can help decrease error margin and can sometimes help save time.
Watch for pictures of what you are building. There may be assemblies or subassemblies that need to be built more than once and will include a 1x, 2x, 3x… etc.
The symbol shown below signifies an orientation/view change. This is different than years past and is important to note. Make sure to orient the model to mimic the view shown in that step.

Teamwork is key with a task like this. It will take a single person many hours to complete a Challenge Set. With a team, the work can be divided among many people. Remember: Many hands make for light work!
Working with a team not only can make for light work but can also help decrease the margin of error.
Having several individuals following along, helping with the build, and/or checking your work, makes it significantly harder to make those same mistakes you may have made on your own!

Bag 1:

Contents: Green Cubes, Red Cubes, Yellow Cubes, Blue Cubes, Precision Tokens, Health Units, Cell Phone and RePLAY^SM Pins

First, it is important to note that the RePLAY Pins do not have a function in the game and because of this, a placement for these will not be mentioned in the Robot Game Field Setup. These are simply a fun keepsake for your team!
As a general comment, and one you will notice in this bag, is that you will build many similar subassemblies. To save time, make sure you are watching for the multiplier (example: x5). It is key for these types of models.

Bag 2:

Contents: Pull-Up Bar

Remember when I mentioned the importance of noting subassembly counts? Well, here is another example where you can use that new skill!
Beginning on page 9 (Step 14), you will see a picture of a subassembly noted 2x. This can save you quite a bit of time if you build them together. Otherwise, when you get all the way to page 20 and have to go back to page 9 begin the process again before continuing to Page 21.

Bag 3:

Contents: Bench and Basketball

This bag requires quite a few elements be collected from the unlabeled bags provided in your Challenge Set. Make sure to grab all the proper lengths and take note of the color and quantity of each element.
It is also important to note that this bag includes two models that are made of more than one mechanical structure. Page 30 and Page 42 show the assembly of these pieces into individual models and provide helpful instructions for the model with a yellow arrow.
Page 42 shows the hoop being placed on the rest of the basketball assembly. This might be tricky to setup the first time, so take note of the helpful yellow arrows provided for combining these structures.

Bag 4:

Contents: Slide and Step Counter

Again, this bag requires quite a few elements be collected from the unlabeled bags provided in your Challenge Set. Make sure to grab all the proper lengths and take note of the color and quantity of each element.
This model has many unique mechanical connections and it is recommended that you build slower than usual and double check your work as you go.
On Page 42, you will be asked to press an axel and coupling together. Make sure that that when you assemble these elements that you do not press these together too hard, as this needs to be able to move freely.
On Page 46, take your time to ensure proper alignment. It is quite easy to misalign this locking mechanism, and this could lead to a model failure.

Bag 5:

Contents: Boccia Frame, Boccia Aim, Boccia Share

In this bag, you will be building elements of the shared mission model for this season. It is important to take your time with this model to ensure proper function.
On Page 62, in one of the final steps, you will be asked to combine the tipping mechanism with the main structure. It is quite easy to misalign this which could result in the model not functioning as intended.

Bag 6:

Contents: Weight Machine and Row Machine

Again, this bag requires quite a few elements be collected from the unlabeled bags provided in your Challenge Set. Make sure to grab all the proper lengths and take note of the color and quantity of each element.
On Page 40, take note of the orientation of the rack. It is easy to flip this and then the model would not function as intended!
On Page 50, it is quite easy to mix up which side you are looking at and it can get confusing. Try to make sure that the blue wheels are on the correct side early on.

Bag 7:

Contents: Heavy Tire, Light Tire, and Treadmill

This bag includes the treadmill, which is a highly mechanical model. Take your time when building this as there are many moving parts.
On Page 6, you will be asked to push a white coupling into place. Make sure to not press too hard, as this could add friction due to compression that may cause the model to not function as intended.
On Page 38, you will be asked to put a number of colored elements into place. If you are working with a black and white print, this could prove quite difficult. You may want to refer to a screen or ask multiple team members to double check the color placement. You can also look to your Robot Game Rulebook for additional pictures of this model.

Bag 8:

Contents: Innovation Elements

This bag is unique in that we provided a bag of elements that do not require building. Instead, they have a different purpose in this year’s Challenge. You can use this to prototype your project solution and then use this design as a way to earn points in the Robot Game (M01 – Innovation Project)! Check out this year’s Challenge Documents for more details about how these fun elements are used!

Bag 9:

Contents: Giveaways!

This bag is also unique in that none of the contents of this bag serve a game purpose. Instead, these are giveaways provided by LEGO^®. Share, have fun, and enjoy!

Have fun building, and have a wonderful RePLAY season. Good luck, teams!

Check out our Challenge and Resources page and YouTube channel for more RePLAY resources.

2020/2021 Team Email Blast Archive

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 17:11:49 GMT

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.

Miss a blast or prefer to keep your inbox clear? Check out the team email blast archive for the 2020-2021 PLAYMAKERS^SM and REPLAY^SM season below. Blasts are sent to teams every other Friday, and we’ll post links to the emails on Mondays.

July 2020:

FIRST LEGO League Explore Team Blast- July, 31, 2020

Behind the Scenes at the 2020 Global Innovation Award

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 18:32:41 GMT

This post was written by Sarah Stray, FIRST Innovation Awards Manager.

Each year, FIRST LEGO League teams are tasked with a real-world problem in the annual Challenge theme; these Innovation Projects have a chance to vie for the Global Innovation Award. Exemplary Projects advance from their local region and after three phases of judging, the top 20 teams are invited to a multi-day event, complete with judging, inspiration, workshops, and connectivity.

Not surprisingly, this year was unique—it was the tenth anniversary, a natural time to reflect on how the award has grown from small beginnings to now shining a spotlight not only on some stellar inventions, but showcasing that educating youth on how to innovate is critically important. When we made the decision to pivot to a remote event experience this year, we knew we were in uncharted waters. However, we felt excitement and joy that we could still deliver that central tenet (which is a fancy way of saying we really dig shouting from any figurative rooftop that kids will solve important problems very well if you let them)! And yes – we were sad, too about not getting to be together in Orlando, Florida within the Disney Parks, but we also knew with a few refocuses on our spotlight, it would still shine brightly on our Global Innovation Award teams.

So, here’s a behind-the-scenes glimpse of our remote days together:

Opportunities expanded.

With boundaries of physical distance no longer an impediment, we were able to recruit top talent from our Global Innovation Award sponsors from around the globe. Mentor from Australia – yep! Teams had two 1:1 mentor sessions with experts from our sponsors and also heard dynamic employees talk about their career paths.

Teams and coaches were game for everything.

An important competency when innovating is the ability to improvise. Something unexpected comes your way? No problem. Something you’ve never encountered before? I’ll give that a try. Our teams this year exhibited this improvisation at every turn. They helped us practice our remote judging format, they were willing to help with some sneaky sponsor thank you signs, they helped create content for our Broadcast, they lip synced, and they got creative with our theme days—Emoji Day, MEME Day, and Wacky Tacky day. You name it, they embraced giving it a try with grace and gusto.

Teams remained truly connected.

As we planned ways to engage our teams from around the world, we knew giving ample opportunity for them to stay connected with each other was key. Teams participated in virtual games, a Disney scavenger hunt, built virtual pits to showcase their Innovation Projects, got to know each other by meeting in small groups, and played trivia together. They shared regional cuisine through recipe sharing and teams posted the yummy results in our daily activity feed. My fave? Chocolate lava mug cake from the Greenscapers.

Gratitude.

We saw coaches working tirelessly to prepare for this remote event and because we were iterating as we planned, new tasks popped up closer to their deadlines than is typical for the Global Innovation Award. Coaches were amazing at keeping all their team members on task and on track. During our first coach webinar, one of the team coaches typed in the chat “Our team was super surprised it was still happening. THANK YOU!”

This type of profound gratitude towards FIRST always takes me aback. It probably shouldn’t; I often see it overflowing within the FIRST community.

My intrinsic response is always—it’s our job to help youth be their best selves and prepare for life and the workforce. In this, we are unflappable. It is our honor. It is our privilege.

As always and especially in this unique year, it is us who are grateful for you.

The Annual Global Innovation Award presented by Disney was held June 24-27, 2020. Learn more about the award and this year’s event here. Learn more about the upcoming FIRST GAME CHANGERS season here.

Cast your Vote & watch the live Global Innovation Award Show on June 27

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 14:07:12 GMT

We’re just days away from the 10th Annual FIRST^® LEGO^® League Global Innovation Award presented by Disney! This year, Disney has teamed up with FIRST^® to inspire and celebrate the next generation of innovators who will change the future through the Global Innovation Award. 20 semi-finalist teams from around the world are showcasing their creative solutions for safer and more accessible spaces in cities and communities.

During the award show broadcast on June 27 at 11 AM on FIRSTtv, one team will win $20,000 USD to further their invention. Two runners-up will win $5,000 USD, and you’ll also get to cast your vote live for the Community Choice Award! The Community Choice Award is your chance to tell us which invention YOU think will make the greatest impact. You can vote in the FIRSTtv Twitch Chat throughout the show.

Before you tine-in and cast your vote, check out the team pitch videos to learn about the innovative solutions they created during the CITY SHAPER season:

Watch the award show broadcast to also hear from the semi-finalist teams, FIRST Founder Dean Kamen, and get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and live Q&A with Disney Imagineers.

Who will YOU choose for the Community Choice Award? Which team will take home the Global Innovation Award and receive $20,000 USD to further their invention? Join us to find out on Saturday, June 27 at 11 AM ET for the live show on FIRSTtv!

Celebrating 10 years of the Global Innovation Award

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 20:40:42 GMT

The 10^th annual Global Innovation Award presented by Disney is only a few days away (join us for the LIVE award show on June 27 at 11 AM ET on FIRSTtv), where FIRST^® LEGO^® League teams are recognized for their inventions and leading and inspiring the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, problem-solvers and changemakers!

As we learn about this year’s outstanding semi-finalists and celebrate a decade of the #GlobalInnovationAward, we also pause to reflect on the many amazing inventions and stories we’ve seen unfold over the years. Today, we’re looking back at some of our innovation ambassadors, their inspiring stories, and inventions.

The Flying Monkeys

The Flying Monkeys from Ames, IA, USA were our inaugural Global Innovation Award winners from the 2010/2011 BODY FORWARD^SM season. They invented the BOB-1 Hand Device, a low-cost, easy to put on and off prosthetic device that enables the user to hold, grip, stabilize, or secure any item they otherwise may not have been able to manipulate. The invention was originally created for Danielle, a 3-year-old girl, to help her draw and color.

The Incredibots

The Incredibots from Gahanna, OH, USA created the Styro-Filter during the 2015/2016 TRASH TREK^SM season, which converts Styrofoam waste into activated carbon that can be used to purify water. Shortly after winning the Global Innovation Award in 2016, they participated in several other contests (including the Google Science Fair) and team spokesperson Ashton Cofer gave a TED talk about the team’s experience building the Styro-Filter that has over 1 million views!

The Thunderbots

The Thunderbots from Sacramento, CA, USA are Innovation Ambassadors from the 2017/2018 HYDRO DYNAMICS^SM season. They invented the UltraOrganix Filter, which removes bacteria and metal from water using solar water disinfection. The team is very active in their community and has helped over 30 rookie teams get their start in FIRST LEGO League in their region. Their proudest accomplishment so far? Creating a robotics education class called STEM Lab: LEGO^® Robotics that they implemented in their local library.

From improvements to the water cycle and making space duration more accessible to innovative solutions in waste management and animal health, past Global Innovation Award finalists have brought their inventions to market, received patents, and incorporated as businesses.

Feeling inspired?

This year’s semi-finalists created solutions to make their communities safer and more accessible during the CITY SHAPER^SMseason. Join us as we share their stories live during the 10^th annual Global Innovation Award presented by Disney on Saturday, June 27 at 11 AM ET on FIRSTtv.

Click here to sign-up to receive more innovation content and a reminder to watch the show.

A New Way to Connect with the FIRST LEGO League Community

Fri, 22 May 2020 14:05:21 GMT

Are you counting down the days until you can get your hands on the 2021 RePLAY^SMand PLAYMAKERS^SM Challenges?

To help hold you over until Challenge release on August 4, we’ve launched our new official FIRST^®LEGO^®League Facebook page where you can find exclusive content about the upcoming Challenge.

We’re excited to have another platform to connect with our amazing community! Make sure to like and follow the page to stay up-to-date about the upcoming season.

Get Your First Look at the 2021 Season

Thu, 14 May 2020 17:00:23 GMT

Have you heard the news? In case you missed it, we unveiled a new look last week – just in time for the upcoming season. Check it at www.firstlegoleague.org.

Speaking of the upcoming season, we’re giving you a first glimpse at this year’s Challenge on Friday (May 15) at 12 pm ET on our social channels.

We want to hear from YOU! @ us with your guesses about this year’s Challenge, and be sure to email or tweet us to let us know what you think about the reveal!

Exciting News! Introducing our Refreshed Look

Fri, 08 May 2020 17:16:30 GMT

Drumroll, please! We’re excited to unveil a refreshed look for FIRST^® LEGO^® League. Same program and impact, now with a simple, easy-to-understand structure. FIRST LEGO League is now one program, encompassing ages 4-16*/grades PreK-8, with three divisions:

FIRST LEGO League Discover (ages 4-6 / grades PreK-1)

FIRST LEGO League Explore (ages 6-10 / grades 2-4)

FIRST LEGO League Challenge (ages 9-16 / grades 4-8)

*Ages vary by region

With this change, FIRST^® transitions from four programs to three: FIRST LEGO League, FIRST^® Tech Challenge, and FIRST^® Robotics Competition. We hope to inspire even more kids and reinforce the value and excitement of our life-changing programs.

Check out our new look at www.firstlegoleague.org! We want to hear what you think. Tweet us @firstlegoleague.

Join us: At-home learning inspired by Star Wars, and more

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 18:04:53 GMT

As a global robotics community that prepares young people for the future, FIRST^® is committed to continuing our efforts to give students the skills and confidence they need to change the world.

During this challenging time, we know there’s a lot of information coming at you very fast, from many directions, about how to keep kids engaged. To help, we’ve created FIRST @ Home where you’ll find online learning/skills development, FIRST supported activities, and provide a place to stay connected to the FIRST community.

One of these is a Star Wars inspired engineering design challenge for students ages 6+ based on this Galactic Builders: A Visit to Lucasfilm video. Join the fun as students explore the possibility of multi-tasking robots.

Get the Galactic Builders Lesson Plan and Student Design Brief here: https://www.firstinspires.org/community/home-learning.

To build on this activity (and celebrate Star Wars Day) tune in to FIRSTtv for Galactic Builders LIVE! on May 4 at 1 p.m. ET. During the show, animatronics engineer and co-creator of BB-8 Matt Denton will share what it’s like building that droid, his approach to creating engineering marvels, and how you can get involved in animatronics. Matt will also share an up-close look at his latest creation, the D-O droid project from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and answer your questions live. Register for Galactic Builders LIVE! here.

Team Phoenix Takes Us Behind the Scenes

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 23:30:57 GMT

Team Phoenix from Lafayette, Louisiana, USA (Innovation Ambassadors from the ANIMAL ALLIES^SM season) recently attended their local qualifier and championship and captured the experience for us all to see! Go behind the scenes on the team’s CITY SHAPER^SM journey below:

Team Phoenix is coached by Michelle MacFadyen, Douglas Williams, and Anne Williams and consists of team members Elijah (3rd season), Dominic (3rd season), Bennett (3rd season), Joseph (7th season), Jack (6th season) and Miguel (7th season).

Want to continue following the team? Stay in touch through their Facebook Page.

Shining in our Abilities: Robotics Education for All

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 20:05:44 GMT

This post was originally featured in the Inspire Blog.

Several years ago, my daughter started my family on our FIRST^® adventure when she joined her elementary school’s FIRST^® LEGO^® League team. I was excited to see her learn programming and engineering and expand her communication and teamwork skills. I knew she was part of something truly special when she and her peers felt empowered to change the world. With her team, we have been lucky to attend the FIRST Championship in Houston twice, and each time I left feeling called to bring FIRST programs back to the school where I teach.

When attending the FIRST Championship this past April, I kept seeing things that I wished I could share with my students. As a special education teacher, I am all too aware that my students are often left out of STEM opportunities. I left Houston feeling more inspired than ever and immediately contacted my local FIRST LEGO League partner in Georgia to learn how to start a team for my students and was thrilled with their gracious response. In August, we started Georgia’s first FIRST LEGO League team made up entirely of students with intellectual disabilities. These amazing students have been shattering expectations, breaking barriers, and acting as trailblazers every step of the way.

Robotics Education for All
I often say that I have the best job in the world. I teach the most incredible group of students and they inspire me every single day. Most people agree that they are the sweetest, funniest, and most joyful young people they have ever met; however, few people would expect them to be able to fully participate in a robotics program. Through their participation in FIRST LEGO League, these kids have proven that they are more than capable – they are absolutely rocking it! While I have offered support and guidance, they each play an active role in the robot portion of FIRST LEGO League.

With help from some of my FIRST^® Robotics Competition students, the team built a simple yet very effective robot. To program their robot, we opened the LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® software on our Smartboard and my students quickly grasped the basics and amazed me with their ability to figure out even the more difficult parts. While programming their robot, they have been introduced to complicated math concepts and are now well-versed in things like negative numbers, the concept of greater than/less than, and the reasoning behind increasing/decreasing speed of their robot.

My paraprofessional and I have seen first-hand our students’ perseverance. When their robot veers off course or falls off the bridge, our students simply say, “That’s OK, try again!” and have never once been frustrated or tried to quit. When asked about their robot, excitement takes over as they point to the motors, explain what they do, and even walk through the programming to explain each individual piece. Their robot, which they affectionately named Awesome Sauce, paired with their phenomenal programming and excellent performance at the table, recently scored 265 points at their regional competition, finishing seventh out of 36 teams in robot performance!

“The Dancing Bears” cheer after successfully completing a mission during the Robot Challenge. (Courtesy of Gwinnett Daily Post)

Seeing the Ability before the Disability
FIRST LEGO League has truly changed how people see my students and their abilities – including myself! While preparing for their competition, I must admit that I was a little concerned about the presentation component. Since my students have some difficulties with speech, I was worried that this aspect of FIRST LEGO League would be an obstacle. Once again, my students proved that I had nothing to worry about. We hosted an open house and invited administrators, teachers, parents, and peers to see what they kids have been up to. It was absolutely incredible. They were the talk of the school. In her email to the entire staff, one of our assistant principals put it so well when she encouraged staff to attend: “These beautiful humans will make your heart warm and wow you with their ABILITIES!” Our visitors were blown away.

At their competition, my students not only presented to the judges, but were able to answer questions and clearly explain their Innovation Project and their robot. They participated in a teamwork challenge and demonstrated FIRST Core Values every step of the way. They competed against teams comprised mostly of gifted elementary and middle school students and showed everyone what they are capable of achieving. Once again, my incredible students shattered my every expectation when they were announced as the winners of the top Champion’s Award!

Empowering Students to Change the World
One of my favorite things about FIRST is that it truly is so much more than robots. As was the case with my daughter all those years ago, my students feel empowered to change the world. For this year’s theme, CITY SHAPER^SM, our team was tasked with identifying a problem with a building or public space in our community and come up with a solution.

“The Dancing Bears” compete with their robot “Awesome Sauce” at the FIRST LEGO League Super Regional in Norcross, Georgia. (Courtesy of Gwinnett Daily Post)

Since my students love the mall, they decided to figure out a way to make it a friendlier option for their peers with autism or other sensory-related difficulties. They approached our local mall with the idea to install a sensory room for individuals who might feel overwhelmed with all the sights, sounds, and smells. The sensory room could provide an escape for individuals on the verge of a meltdown. Additionally, my students created a symbol-based textbook that can be used in the event of an emergency involving an individual who is nonverbal. They have distributed these books to several stores in our community and will be sending them out via email in the coming months. When they presented their ideas to the judges at the competition, the judges admitted that they never even thought about these kinds of struggles faced by individuals with disabilities and were inspired by my students and their desire to help others.

My students are paving the way for other students with disabilities to become more engaged in robotics education. I don’t think they realize quite how big their impact has been, but I do know that their confidence levels have sky-rocketed throughout this process. Our school and the local FIRST community have been great supporters, and my students feel like superstars with all of the attention they have received. I cannot wait to see them continue to break barriers and change the world!

Introduce students to robot building and coding and develop teamwork skills with FIRST LEGO League.

About the author:
Danielle Jenkins is a special education teacher and mentor for FIRST Robotics Competition Team 7538 “Metal Mountain” and FIRST LEGO League Team 40635 “The Dancing Bears,” both from Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

2020 Championship Team Email Blasts

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 21:13:29 GMT

Click the links below to read up on the latest FIRST^®Championship news for FIRST^®LEGO^®League Jr. and FIRST^® LEGO^® League teams.

Week of February 24, 2020:

FIRST LEGO League Jr.:

FIRST LEGO league Jr. – Houston Email Blast #4

FIRST LEGO League Jr. – Detroit Email Blast #4

FIRST LEGO League:

FIRST LEGO League – Houston Email Blast #4

FIRST LEGO League – Detroit Email Blast #4

Week of February 17, 2020:

FIRST LEGO League Jr.:

FIRST LEGO League Jr. – Houston Email Blast #3

FIRST LEGO League Jr. – Detroit Email Blast #3

FIRST LEGO League:

FIRST LEGO League – Houston Email Blast #3

FIRST LEGO League – Detroit Email Blast #3

Week of February 10, 2020:

FIRST LEGO League Jr.:

FIRST LEGO League Jr. – Houston Email Blast #2

FIRST LEGO League Jr. – Detroit Email Blast #2

FIRST LEGO League:

FIRST LEGO League – Houston Email Blast #2

FIRST LEGO League – Detroit Email Blast #2

Week of February 03, 2020:

FIRST LEGO League Jr.:

FIRST LEGO League Jr. – Houston Email Blast #1

FIRST LEGO League Jr. – Detroit Email Blast #1

FIRST LEGO League:

FIRST LEGO League – Houston Email Blast #1

FIRST LEGO League – Detroit Email Blast #1

My STEM Super Heroes, by 10 year old Angelina

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 21:51:29 GMT

Today’s post is written by Angelina, age 10, from FIRST^®LEGO^® League team the 8 Magnateers of Pittsford, NY, USA. The 8 Magnateers are Global Innovation Award Ambassadors from the INTO ORBIT^SMseason and inventors of Magnetic Dogeball.

When FIRST^® asked me who my STEM hero was, I immediately thought of two. The first one is Emily Calandrelli. I first saw Emily on her awesome television show, Xploration Outer Space. She really has one of the coolest jobs in the world. Ever since I saw her TV show, I knew I wanted to be just like her when I grow up. Emily does so many cool experiments and talks to many space related experts on her show. Emily also writes books about a girl named Ada Lace who loves STEM. I love them a lot. Emily was so kind when I got to meet her at the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award event in San Jose, California. She even signed my book! The thing I love the most about her is that she encourages young girls to like science.

Emily is a FIRST Alum!

The second is former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy. I know about Pam because she grew up in my hometown and even went to my elementary school. There is a plaque on the wall in our school with a picture of her in the space shuttle and she brought us a patch that she took into space. Pam was the pilot of 2 shuttle missions, and the commander of one. She was one of only two female shuttle commanders. I saw a documentary about her, and she said she knew from when she was little that she was going to be an astronaut. One of the things I love the most about her is that she had a dream and went for it. She never gave up.

Photo courtesy of NASA

The more I think about it, I have STEM heroes everywhere. Lots of people made me love STEM before I even knew what any part of STEM was. STEM has always been a part of my everyday life. My family would answer my questions about the world, and if they didn’t know, we would find out together. We would do math at the grocery store. They would (usually!) let me solve problems on my own, and in my own time. Then my teachers started to play a role. When I was 4, I remember my preschool teacher, Mrs. Jones, told me that “everyone is a scientist.” My teachers at my school are a big reason why math is my favorite subject. At the Global Innovation Award, my technology teacher, Mrs. Rivera, gave each of us a magnet where she wrote, “Believe in yourself and even gravity won’t hold you down.”

I know I will be a STEM hero one day. I might not be as famous as Pam or Emily, but I am sure I will make a difference.

Special Offer for New Teams

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 20:08:13 GMT

Thinking about starting a FIRST^®LEGO^®League team? Now’s a great time to jump in and bring engaging STEM experiences to your students with our jump start offer, which is open to new teams in the U.S. and Canada.

Here are a few reasons why we think you’ll love jump start:

1. Your team will practice robot building and programming (at your own pace!) with a classic FIRST LEGO League Challenge.

Challenges change from season to season, but skills like line following and programming are used every year.

2. Your students will learn and practice the FIRST^® Core Values by working together and developing teamwork and collaboration skills.

3. In a non-competitive environment, your students will gain confidence and feel ready to take on additional STEM challenges. You’ll get a head start on the 2020-2021 season by receiving a registration grant ($225), which can be used when registration opens in May.

Learn more about FIRST LEGO League Jump Start.

A Day to Celebrate Kid Inventors

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 21:48:37 GMT

Today is Kid Inventors’ Day, a day that we acknowledge and celebrate the creativity and accomplishments of society’s youngest innovators.

Celebrated annually on January 17^th, the holiday falls on Benjamin Franklin’s birthday (he invented the first swim flippers when he was 11). These other items were invented by kids, too.

Our #STEMsquad is filled with hundreds of thousands of inventive kids who are creating innovative solutions to real-world problems. They’re making the world a more creative and better place!

Has your team filed a patent for their innovative solution? We want to hear from you!