Join the Fun.Over the years, we've had so many questions from people looking for a FIRST Lego League team to join. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the program, it rarely happens that a team advertises for a new member. So how do you get involved? Here's Lego Legion's handy guide on how to jump in to the best experience of your life!
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Find a TeamWhile it is difficult to find an established team looking for new members, here are a couple of places to start:
Schools sometimes have programs. Ask around! If not your school, check with other schools in your district, or neighboring districts. If you are homeschooled, check with local co-ops. Lego Legion started as a co-op class! You can also check with your regional partner (the person who coordinates FIRST programs in your area) to see if he or she knows of any teams. If you live in Ohio, you can contact Brenda Ronnebaum at the Wright-Pat Air Force Base Educational Outreach office: [email protected] Many teams are formed as "neighborhood teams." This simply means that a group of families get together and form a team. Who do you know from your church, sports teams, civic group, neighborhood who might be interested? If you decide to start a team, you won't have a hard time finding interested team members! Ask an established team. Sometimes a coach who has been to several tournaments might have an inside track. If you know of a team, reach out and see if they are looking for new members. One way to connect with teams is to attend a tournament in your area. Most FLL Challenge tournaments start in November, and run through March. |
Start an Official TeamReally, the best way to get involved is to start a team yourself. Yes, it's a big commitment of time, money, heart and soul! But it's very much worth it.
FIRST Lego League has three different programs that serve a range of elementary school ages. FIRST Lego League DISCOVER (ages 4-6) FIRST Lego League EXPLORE (ages 6-10) FIRST Lego League CHALLENGE (ages 9-14) FIRST offers some great resources on their website: FIRST Official Website Learn a little more about the FIRST family of programs through their video teaser: Promo Video Or, explore the FLL Challenge website: FIRST FLL Challenge For Ohioans, Wright-Pat has some great resources here: FIRST Lego League Resources You CAN do it! You'll want to start with a team of about 5-7 kids, and some very committed parents. You need a corner of someone's basement or a guest room to set up a table about the size of a piece of plywood, and a regular time to meet. Plan on 1-2 times per week to start with. The challenge is released at the beginning of August, but you might want to start meeting earlier than that. It would be great to get familiar with the robot, and look over the rubrics ahead of time. Search for "First Lego League Challenge Rubrics" and you should be able to find this season's rubrics. But what do you actually DO?? Good question. FIRST offers an incredible document that walks you step-by-step through the season, and is a gold mine of rookie coach resources. It's called FIRST Steps! Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Module 4 Module 5 Module 6 Module 7 Module 8 Most of all, DON'T give up! Everyone's rookie season is overwhelming and stressful. Just muddle through to the competition and we promise-- it will be worth it!! |
Investigate the LearningMaybe your heart is ready to jump, but circumstances aren't quite right. Maybe it's the end of October and you missed the start of the season, or maybe you're going to have to do some leg work. Never fear! Start learning anyway!
Start talking to other families and collect a group of 6-10 students who are interested. Have everyone pitch in to purchase a Lego robot and start meeting! You'll definitely want to learn to build and program your bot. The absolute, best way to do that is through a website built and maintained by two former FLL students... FIRST friends of Lego Legion! Start with the beginner lessons, and go right on through! PrimeLessons.org Then, bring the future team to a couple of competitions to watch all the excitement! Our Cincinnati entry-level competitions start in mid-Nov, and the District (2nd tier) competition is in mid January. The Ohio State competition is usually at Hobart Arena in Troy in March. **Season dates and format may change year to year. If you spend a year learning to build and program, and come to a couple of competitions, you will get a good feel for what FLL Challenge is. You will be in great shape to kick off a team next fall! There are some great local resources for summer programming camps or classes throughout the year. Check out these: WPAFB Educational Outreach Ross Rambotics ISpace Cincinnati |