FIRST LEGO League Junior

Gabby Hester

FLLjr, JrEngineers, Hackers, FLL

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Fiona Last-Powell

FIRST Senior Mentor

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Our mission is to empower families and individuals of all ages to collaboratively explore, learn, and lead using technology and engineering.

• Founded in 2010 as Wake Robotics
• 100% Volunteer- Based
• Currently 100+ K-12 students

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Explore Learn Lead

Explore

Learn

Government Interaction

FIRST

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

Dean Kamen, Founder of FIRST

Inventor of Segway, many other inventions

"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.“

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Overall Values of FIRST

• Gracious Professionalism^TM
• Coopertition^TM
• Teamwork
• Science and technology
• Relevant current events

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FIRST Programs

6 7 8 9 || 9 10 11 12 13 14 || 14 15 16 17 18

Age

FIRST ^® LEGO^® League

FIRST ^® Tech �Challenge

FIRST ^® Robotics Competition

Junior FIRST ^® �LEGO^® League

FIRST LEGO League Junior

Beginning engineering programs for K-4

Themes in FLLJr and FLL

127 teams in 2004 with “No Limits”

22,000 teams expected from 12+ countries this year

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• Teams of 2 to 6 student
• 6 to 10 year olds
• Non competitive
• Research a topic, �build a model with moving parts to illustrate the topic.

FIRST LEGO League Junior�(FLL Jr.)

FLL Jr

6 to 10 weeks

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End result is a

“Show me” display board

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and

LEGO model with a motorized part and a simple machine

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That can be explained to other people

2016-2017 Schedule

Cost

• Minimum cost
• $75 to register a team (http://usfirst.org)

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• LEGOs
• Wheels, gears, axles, motors

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• Additional costs for teams
• Matching tshirts and �accessories/bling
• Display board and decorations
• Snacks
• JrExpo fees: $25-$50

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Optional (but recommended)

JrFLL Base Kit ($210): 2015 kit

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LEGO® Bricks Set (884 pieces)

2 Simple Machines Sets� LEGO Power Functions � Battery Box and Motor

LEGO 15” Base Plate

6 Build To Express mini-kits

Junior FIRST LEGO League Guide to Building and More

We Do: Optional for Older Teams

JrFLL Robotics Kit ($186): 2015 Kit�(early programming, sensors, interactive models)

The LEGO® Education WeDo™ system

• 2nd or 3rd year teams (7 to 9 yo) who are ready to go to the next step with models
• featuring working motors and sensors; program their models with colorful, visual software designed just for kids.

FIRST LEGO League Junior program updates

FLL Jr in Practice

FLL Jr Core Values

• We are a team.
• We do the work. Our coaches and mentors help us learn, but we find the answers ourselves.
• We share our experiences and discoveries with others.
• We are helpful, kind, and show respect when we work, play, and share. We call this Gracious Professionalism™.
• We are all winners.
• We have fun.

Coach’s Promise

• Students come first�
• Students do the work
• Adults can help find the answers but can’t give them the answers or make decisions�
• I will encourage my team members/other coaches/volunteers/team supporters to practice JrFLL values

FLL Jr is Customizable

Implementation and logistics of the team is very individual

• This is typical of the FIRST organization as a whole�

Use it as:

• An “extracurricular” club
• A team activity
• A social, fun time
• A science enrichment activity
• A homeschool science curriculum

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Use it how it works for you

You know your kids

• What challenges you are working through with them
• How much time can they spend on task and with others�

Talk with other parents

• Any snack OK?
• Any typical “co-op” or "club" issues?
• How often to meet and for how long?
• How much work will you do outside of the group?
• How are you going to split the costs?

What Do You Actually Do?

Team Meetings

• Plan a ~2 hour time period once a week�
• Split the time between:
• Team building activities
• Talking/putting together research about the topic
• Building with LEGO’s
• Having fun�
• Do some field trips about the topic, science experiments and/or crafts

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• Plan your time -- focus is on learning, not necessarily producing

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• Coach’s Handbook has outlines of meeting periods

The season…

• Start with background information
• youtube, field trips, building, library�
• Look at both:
• Research topic and
• Simple machines, how to build strong structures and use motors

The season…

Spread out your team decisions

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Part of the process is learning the skills for

working in teams and

making decisions

• Team name
• Specific topic being looked at
• What the model will look like
• The display board
• T-shirts / buttons

End Result:�Model, Show Me Board�and a celebration “Expo”

What are they really learning?

Skills for 6ish to 9 year olds

How to

• Work as a team
• Listen to each other
• share LEGOs
• Come up with 1 display board,1 model, 1 name for the team
• Keep a model together (at least for a day!)
• Talk to people about a project they worked on with others

Questions?