ROBOTICS PROGRAMS

FIRST LEGO League Explore

GRADES PreK-8

FIRST® LEGO® League (ages 4-16 / grades PreK-8) introduces STEM to children through fun, hands-on challenges using LEGO® technology. Participants gain real-world problem-solving experiences through a guided, global robotics program, helping students, families, and educators build a better future together.

Through three age-appropriate divisions, FIRST LEGO League inspires youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills and showcase what they learned.

In the UNEARTHED™ challenge, to be released August 5, 2025, FIRST LEGO League teams will uncover the past to discover the future.

Team Poster

Teams research the current Challenge theme, and show what they learned on a Team Poster.

LEGO Model

Using all LEGO elements, teams will design and build a model based on the season Challenge theme that contains a coded motorized part.

Core Values

The teams will learn and exemplify the FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition through the 6 Core Values. Teams are evaluated on HOW they work together, as well as inspiration, teamwork and gracious professionalism.

Explore Festival

The teams get to show and share what they learned for the season at a FLL Explore Festival! Volunteer Reviewers will interview the teams to learn about their LEGO Model and Team Poster.

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FIRST LEGO League Challenge

GRADES 7-12

FIRST^® Tech Challenge (ages 12-18 / grades 7-12) students work together with their mentors to design and build robots to compete in a dynamic and exciting challenge released every September.

Teams program classroom-scale robots to follow autonomous commands before student drivers take control in two-on-two matches. On and off the field, students develop STEM skills, engage in community outreach, practice engineering innovation, and build confidence to help them succeed.

Starting September 6, 2025, FIRST Tech Challenge teams will investigate the power of the world’s artifacts and unlock mysteries in a new challenge, DECODE™ presented by RTX.

The Robot Game

Using a LEGO Robotics kit, a team designs, builds and programs an autonomous robot to activate missions and earn points. Robots compete in three 2.5 minute rounds in an attempt to earn as many points as possible.

The Innovation Project

Teams conduct research to solve a real-world problem, develop an innovative solution, share their findings with their community, and present their work at the competition.

Robot Design & Programming

Teams build and program a LEGO robot (NXT, EV3 or Spike PRIME) and share their work at the competition. Teams are evaluated on their engineering process of both robot design and robot programming, explaining their design iterations and strategies.

Core Values

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FIRST TECH Challenge

GRADES 9-12

Each January brings a new challenge for FIRST^® Robotics Competition (ages 14-18 / grades 9-12) teams. Starting with a Kit of Parts, they design, program, and build industrial-sized robots to play an action-packed game as part of a three-team alliance.

In 360-degree learning guided by mentors, students learn engineering and problem-solving skills as they compete for awards, hone teamwork skills, raise funds to meet team goals, and advance appreciation for STEM in their community.

In REBUILT™ presented by Haas, a new challenge releasing January 10, 2026, FIRST Robotics Competition teams will use engineering skills and re-imagine the past.

The Robot Game

Teams design, build and program a robot to compete on a 12′ x 12′ field in an alliance format.

Engineering Portfolio

Teams document their journey for the season including robot design iterations, programming changes, community outreach, team brainstorming sessions, and team meetings. Teams are then asked to summarize their documentation for competition into a 15 page Engineering Portfolio.