FIRST LEGO League
CALIFORNIA – Southern
COUNTIES SERVED
San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo
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VOLUNTEER
COACHES CORNER
Welcome to the home of the California Southern FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) – Challenge, Explore and Discover.
In FIRST® LEGO® League, students are immersed in real-world, hands-on STEM challenges. Teams design their own solution or problem to real world engineering challenges while building autonomous LEGO robots that perform a series of missions. Through their participation, students develop valuable life skills, build confidence, grow their knowledge and develop habits of learning.
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3 FIRST LEGO League Divisions
FIRST LEGO League guides youth through STEM learning and exploration at an early age. From Discover, to Explore and then to Challenge, students will understand the basics of STEM and apply their skills in an exciting competition while gaining productive learning habits, confidence, and teamwork skills along the way.
GRADES PRE K – 1
For children ages 4-6, Discover is a playful introductory STEM program that ignites natural curiosity and builds habits of learning with hands-on activities in the classroom and at home using LEGO® DUPLO® bricks.
GRADES 2 – 4
In Explore, teams of students ages 6-10 focus on the fundamentals of engineering as they explore real-world problems, learn to design, and code and create unique solutions made with LEGO bricks and powered by LEGO® Education SPIKETM Essential or WeDo 2.0.
GRADES 4 – 8
Friendly competition is at the heart of Challenge, as teams of students ages 9-16* engage in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering – building and programming a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game.
2023-2024 season challenge
Bring your ideas to the surface in SUBMERGED
In the SUBMERGED℠ challenge, FIRST LEGO League teams will use creative thinking and LEGO® technology to explore the layers of the ocean and bring their learnings and ideas to the surface as they “sea” into the future.
GRADES 4 – 8
CORE VALUES
Demonstrate FIRST Core Values in everything you do. Your team will be evaluated during the Robot Game and the judging session. Core Values are judged everywhere, Referees at the Robot Game table will also be watching how the teams embody Gracious Professionalism® – the spirit of friendly competition unique to all FIRST programs.
Your team will:
- Apply teamwork and discovery to explore the challenge.
- Innovate with new ideas about your robot and project.
- Show how your team and your solutions will have an impact and be inclusive!
- Celebrate by having fun in everything you do!
ROBOT DESIGN
Your team will prepare a short presentation on your robot design, strategy and program.
Your team will also:
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Identify your mission strategy.
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Design your robot and programs and create an effective plan.
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Create your robot and coding solution.
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Iterate, test, and improve your robot and program.
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Communicate your robot design process and everyone’s contributions with the judges
ROBOT GAME
Your team will have three 2.5-minute matches to complete as many missions as possible.
Your team will:
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Build the mission models and follow the field setup to put the models on the mat.
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Review the missions and rules.
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Design and build a robot.
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Explore building and coding skills while practicing with your robot on the mat.
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Compete at an event.
INNOVATION PROJECT
Your team will prepare a live, engaging presentation to explain the work you have done on your Innovation Project.
Your team will:
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Identify and research a problem to solve.
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Design a new solution or improve an existing one, based on your selected idea, brainstorming and plan.
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Create a model, drawing, or prototype.
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Iterate on your solution by sharing it with professionals, those that would be impacted and collecting feedback.
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Communicate your solution’s impact with the judges.
GRADES 2 – 4
It’s never too early to discover STEM. FIRST LEGO League Explore introduces science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts to kids ages 6 to 10 while exciting them through a brand they know and love − LEGO®.
Guided by adult Coaches, teams of up to 6 members explore a real-world scientific problem such as energy, transportation of goods, recycling, etc. Then they create a Show-Me poster that illustrates their journey of discovery and introduces their team.
They also construct a motorized model of what they learned using LEGO elements. In the process, teams learn about teamwork, the wonders of science and technology, and the FIRST LEGO League Explore Core Values and critical thinking. At the end of team season they come together at a Festival to show what they’ve learned, share ideas, celebrate, and have fun!
"I don’t use kids to build robots. I use robots to build kids." - Dean Kamen, FIRST founder
Calendar
FIRST LEGO LEAGUE
California – Southern
february, 2025
RESOURCES
Coaches Corner
FIRST LEGO League Challenge – Coach and Team Resources
Programming & Building Resources
- SPIKE Prime Lessons
- EV3 Lessons
- EV3 Tutorial – STEMcentric
- EV3 Video Tutorials – W.A.F.F.L.E.S
- FLLcasts.com
- Mr. Hino’s LEGO Robotics
- Programming & Coding for FLL & Classrooms – Zachary Trautwein
Team Registration
- Pricing and Payment Information
- Team Budget Worksheet
- Season Calendar
- Youth Team Member Registration
Coach Resources
Season Materials
- Challenge Overview
- Building Instructions
- Robot Game Missions Video
- Code for Guided Mission
- Wireframe and Grid
- Table Building Instructions
- Welcome Letter
- Global Innovation Award
Rules, Judging and Rubrics
Event Information
FIRST LEGO League Explore – Coach and Team Resources
Getting Started
Programming & Building Resources
- Additional WeDo 2.0 Lessons
- SUPERPOWERED Explore Set
- SUPERPOWERED – FIRST LEGO League Explore Carousel Model
- SUPERPOWERED – FIRST LEGO League Explore Energy Storage Model
- Wind Turbine Model Video
- Explore Model Building Instructions
Season Materials
- Challenge Overview
- Welcome Letter
- Scope and Sequences
- Skills Progression
- Mentoring and Coaching with FIRST
- Reviewing Documents – includes Reviewing Sheets, Reviewing Questions and Awards List
- Festival Instructions
Coach Resources
Family Engagement – Learn through Play
Coming Soon
Thank you for your interest in joining a FIRST® LEGO® League Explore / Challenge team!
Please note that FIRST does not match individual children with existing teams and we are not able to provide you with contact information for existing teams. We have included information below to help guide you in finding a team in your area or to helping you start a team.
FINDING A TEAM
- Using the Team and Event Search tool on the FIRST website is a great way to look for teams in your area!
- Use the “Filter” section to narrow your search results. For your convenience, we’ve filtered the results to include teams within a 25-mile radius of your zip code.
- Due to our Privacy Policy, FIRST is unable to provide contact information for teams; however, you can copy and paste the team name, number, and location into a Google Search as this often yields a website or Facebook page. Once you’ve identified the team or organization’s public contact information, you may contact them directly.
- If you do not find any team information via the Events and Teams page, it’s because teams generally form via school groups, youth organizations, and community groups. We recommend reaching out to these organizations in your area to inquire if any have a FIRST LEGO League team, and if so, if they are looking for additional members.
- The FIRST Forums provide a place for the FIRST LEGO League Community to talk to each other; teams, coaches, volunteers, FIRST LEGO League partners and parents. Although this is not a FIRST site (i.e., where official information is dispensed) it is a popular tool used by many teams and where you can ask if a team in your area is looking for additional youth to join.
STARTING A TEAM
In the event you cannot find a team in your area that is looking for new team members, we highly recommend starting a team. Although this may sound daunting, many parents start teams themselves or work with their local community organizations and schools to get one started. Please know, you do not need to be technical to start a team! We cannot emphasize this enough. In fact, many of our coaches have limited technical skills. The most successful coaches are people who simply have an interest in science and technology, and in helping kids discover and learn.
Here are key items to know about starting a team:
Minimum Team Startup Checklist:
- A spirit of adventure
- The time commitment is 1-3 hours a week, over the course of 12 weeks.
- 2 coaches and at least 2+ kids
- A place to meet
- A willingness to raise funds (sponsorships available)
- The desire to have fun and help kids learn
- The expectation to get more back than you give!
- The FIRST web page Start a team has all the information you will need to start a team.
We know this is a lot of information, please feel free to contact us with additional questions.
ON THE BLOG
2023/2024 FLL Championship & Explore Festival – California Southern
California Southern FIRST LEGO League held their Championship event at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, CA on Sunday, January 14, 2024. 50 FIRST LEGO League Challenge and 40 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams participated in hopes of receiving a bid to...
FLL Western Edge Open
On the weekend of May 12-14, 2023, 76 FIRST LEGO League teams from 22 counties and across the US met at the Long Beach Convention Center for the Western Edge Open. The Western Edge Open was a three day event giving teams an opportunity to participate in a high level...
2022 FLL Championship & Explore Festival – California Southern
In December, California Southern Region held the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Championship and the FIRST LEGO Explore Festival at the University of Riverside. Complete list of results and awards. FIRST LEGO League Challenge Championship University of Riverside...
For 30 years, FIRST® volunteers have fueled the mission by inspiring millions of young people to reach for the stars. You are part of a global support system we’ve built for students who need a spark of curiosity and encouragement to launch their dreams. Together, we’re inspiring the next generation of innovators, technology leaders, and change-makers here on Earth – and beyond.
VOLUNTEER
Volunteer Opportunities!
Non-Technical and Technical Roles Available
FIRST® LEGO® League is a volunteer-run organization lead by passionate, like minded individuals who see the value in encouraging elementary through middle school students to participate in a program that exposes them to a world of imagination and innovating.
Why Volunteer?
- Make a difference in the lives of young people
- Help young people apply real-world math and science concepts
- Network with like-minded professionals
- Help celebrate science and technology
- Help kids discover the fun in science and technology
Volunteers are needed to enable more than 2,400 Southern California FIRST® LEGO® League students to compete at tournaments and demonstrate what they have achieved.
SPONSOR
Thank You To Our Partners
SPONSOR
Panasonic
WAYS TO SPONSOR
SUPPORT FLL - CA, SOUTHERN
To discuss sponsorship opportunities and benefits of sponsorship, please contact FIRST California Senior Regional Director, David Berggren, through the Contact Form at the bottom of this page.
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SOCIAL MEDIA – FLL CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN
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