FIRST LEGO® League

The Perot Museum is proud to serve as the North Texas affiliate for FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) — a regional engineering competition that challenges students to use their creativity and technical knowledge to create robots designed to solve real-world problems. It’s the ultimate combination of competition and discovery and it’s a proven winner when it comes to engaging students in math and science!

 

Get Ready for FLL 2013 - Natures Fury Challenge!

Can FIRST LEGO® League teams help us master natural disasters? 

FLL challenges kids to think like scientists and engineers. During NATURE'S FURY teams will also build, test and program an autonomous robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS® robot to solve a set of missions in the Robot game. They will also choose and solve a real-world problem in the project. Throughout their experience, teams will operate under FLL's signature set of Core Values.
 
Get Involved as a Volunteer  Coach Resources

Key Dates

The qualifying event dates will be announced after the start of the season in September. For advancing teams, this year's North Texas Regional Championship tournament will be held in early 2014, hosted at The Hockaday School in Dallas.

Creating an FLL Team

If you’re interested in forming a FLL team, here’s how it works:  
FLL teams consist of anywhere from 3 to 10 students. While most teams are founded by schools, many are also independently run through Boy and Girl Scout troops, science and technology clubs, other outreach organizations or just groups of friends!

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is the Operational Partner for FLL in North Texas. We oversee official FLL events in the region and work to spread the word of FLL. We cannot, however, assist with team creation or management. We recommend the following course of action for anyone interested in getting involved with an FLL team:

1. Contact the child’s school and see if they already have an FLL team that has an available spot.
2. If the child’s school does not have a team, encourage them to start one.
3. Offer to become a team coach.  There are great resources for coaches at www.usfirst.org.
4. Need help locating an FLL team in your area? Try FIRST's team-matching system, TeamUp. Click here to be directed to the FIRST website.

Once you have a group of students and a coach, you’re ready to begin the season – all you need to do is register!

To register to compete in official FLL Tournaments, you must first register with FIRST by visiting the FIRST LEGO® League website. Registration takes place each year between May and September. Once registration has closed, the Annual Challenge is announced. Shortly thereafter, registration for the North Texas Regional Qualifiers opens. For information on how to register for a qualifier, click here. Remember, you must register with both FIRST and the Museum in order to be eligible to participate in a qualifying tournament for the North Texas region.

The announcement of the Annual Challenge marks the beginning of several fast and furious weeks of robot design, programming and trial!  At the same time, teams also engage in a research project related to the core mission of the Challenge. When the teams compete at the Regional Championship Tournament, judging isn’t based on robot performance alone—the quality of design, outcome of their research project and level of teamwork are all major factors in a winning equation. 

About FIRST LEGO^® League

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen to foster interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, NH, FIRST inspires young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting, mentor-based programs that build math, science, and technology skills—abilities that, in turn, lead to a more well-rounded life through greater self-confidence, communication, and leadership. This invaluable mission is shared by the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. As a research and informal science education institution, we believe that children learn best when they overcome challenges through hands-on learning, project design, and experimentation. It’s an experience that gives them the opportunity to view science as a process, rather than merely an end result. This is why we are proud to support the North Texas Regional Tournament.

FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) is one of four competitive levels designed by FIRST, using LEGO® Mindstorms NXT robotics kids as its platform. Aimed at an international audience of students ages 9 through 14, this competition teaches real-world problem solving through engineering design and teamwork. Beyond the events, FLL also works closely with schools and other youth-based organizations to transform the perception of science and technology—inspiring kids who might not otherwise have found a love for these fields to pursue further studies and career paths in science and technology.

In 2008, the Museum became the Affiliate and Operational Partner for the North Texas Region. The Museum coordinates and oversees all FLL events for the North Texas area. The largest of these events is the Regional Championship Tournament, typically held in January of each year.

Contacts

For information about the FLL 2013 season and team development please contact Kristine Cantu at kristine.cantu@perotmuseum.org

Check back soon for more information.