First Lego League Challenge
Grades 5 - 8
Friendly competition is at the heart of Challenge, as teams of students in grades 5-8 engage in research, problem-solving, coding and engineering – building and programming a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game. As part of the Challenge, teams also participate in a research project to identify and solve a relevant real-world problem.
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About the Program
FIRST LEGO League introduces science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to children through fun, exciting hands-on learning. FIRST LEGO League participants gain real-world problem-solving experiences through a guided, global robotics program, helping today’s students and teachers build a better future together. In FIRST LEGO League, students engage in hands-on STEM experiences, building confidence, growing their knowledge and developing habits of learning. FIRST LEGO League inspires youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics.
About the challenge
Every year in August a new game and theme are released. Teams of up to 8 students meet once or twice a week to prepare for the four segments of the competition that will take place in late November or early December. Volunteer mentors guide the students as they work together on the Robot Game, Robot Design Presentation, Innovation Project and Core Values. They also gain valuable skills in leadership, time-management, self-confidence and co-operation. We love watching the students learn and grow!
Robot Game
The robot game consists of a large table holding a mission mat and a number of interactive LEGO models that represent missions related to theme. Teams build attachments to help the robot complete missions, and program their robot to complete as many missions as possible during the 2.5 minute matches.
Robot Design
Teams design, build and test their robots and attachments throughout the season as they work through the robot game. At the competition, they present their robot design to a panel of judges, showing their engineering and design process, mission strategy and problem-solving skills.
Innovation Project
The innovation project involves identifying a real world problem related to the season's theme and developing an innovative solution. Students research the theme, meet with experts, and create a model or prototype of their solution to share with experts and users. The project is presented to the panel of judges at the competition.
Core Values
Throughout the season, students learn about and practice the Core Values of FIRST: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork and Fun. At the competition, they will be evaluated on their demonstration of these core values as they compete together, interact with other teams and mentors, and present their work to the judges.