FIRST Lego League (FLL) Challenge and Explore inspires teams to research, build, and experiment, and by doing so, they live the entire process of creating ideas, solving problems, and overcoming obstacles, while gaining confidence in their abilities to positively use technology. FLL teams research a real-world problem such as food safety, recycling, energy, etc., and are challenged to develop a solution. They must share the problem they chose as well as their solution to make an impact on their community. They also must design, build, and program a robot capable of using 1 or more attachments using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology, then compete on a 4 ft x 8 ft table-top playing field, all while embodying and living the FIRST Core Values.
FLL Mentorship History
Since 2015, the Firebots founded 10 FIRST Lego League (FLL) Challenge teams with middle school students from the Sunnyvale area and mentored over 12 FLL teams. FLL alumni Firebots also ran an annual week-long summer boot camp to overview FLL before the season began. By 2016, the Firebots extended to starting and coaching FIRST Lego League Explore teams with elementary school students. Many students graduate to continue onto FTC and FRC at Fremont High Robotics.
We also hosted three FLL Qualifiers in November of 2018, 2019, and 2022. Through these events, we've been able to connect with other FIRST teams and even fundraise by selling food and drinks.
FLL Challenge & Explore Awards
A dedicated team of students spent the summer of 2020 working on a video series to help FLL teams start their season during the pandemic without having to meet in person. The videos covered 4 main sections: Fundamentals, Project, Robot Design and Strategy, and EV3 Programming. Each section was tailored to cover the basics of FLL and have been a useful resource to many students.