First Lego League

One of our most recent ventures has been First Lego League. What a learning experience! First Lego League involves creating robots using a programmable brick and lego components for boys ages 9 to 14. To register a team or just get some info go to http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll. The Robot they are using this year is called the EV3.

The kids are tasked to build a robot including a base, ams, etc using sensors, motors, and the brick, and program it to accomplish a series of challenges on a giant table. Directions for making the table are online on the FLL website. Once you have registered your team you can order what is called the field kit. It comes with a map like paper that fits inside and on top of your table called the field and the mission models which are the challenges. The cost for the field kit was $75

This year since we were a rookie team and I felt like we were taking on a lot, I sat down with my two boys and built the mission models. Next year we will totally have a building party and include all of the boys on the team. But I had fun figuring it out with my boys. It took us an afternoon and a morning working together. We were so excited to get them finished. This picture was probably taken about 5 in the morning :-)

The instructions were all online, which kind of drove me crazy, I'm definitely a hard copy kind of person.

As you can see, the kids are all a lot of fun!

The table IS huge!

In order to compete statewide or nationally you have to first register with FLL and then register for a local event. Registration to the national league is $225, but is shared by all team members. Registration for a local even is a flat $100 and is also shared by the team.

There are 3 parts to the competition: The Robot Game (which is everyone's favorite part), The Project, and Core Values. The teams are judged in each category.

Part of going to competition is showing your team spirit. Most teams make t-shirts and include other kinds of props. The kids designed their own t-shirts. We all agreed on a basic style so that we had some uniformity, but then they individualized their robots. Each of their shirts has a picture of the robot they designed and the wording "Ben is in control", but each shirt says their own name.  We also put Rookie year on the sleeve.

This was one of my favorites

 Here's how Ben's turned out.

We went with nerd glasses since this year's theme has to do with learning

We also made some shoes

 The boys turned in sketches for their robots and I freehanded them with some acrylic paint. Some of the boys participated in painting their T-shirts, but others didn't seem interested. Everyone got to pick the color that went on their items and we decided together to go with florescents.

It's been a lot of fun watching these kids learn and grow! Our competition is Jan 3 and we are all crossing our fingers!

Here is a video of one of our practices.

We just got back from our very first tournament. It was so much fun. Harrison's team came in first and are invited to go to state. Ben's team came in 4th, which is really great for a rookie team. I'm so proud of them. Next year we're shooting for state!

Here's just a few pictures of the day. Along with her mama, Livy is a huge supporter :-)

Here's a few pictures of Harrison's team.