FIRST LEGO League and JR. FLL

It was a great meeting tonight discussing the FIRST LEGO programs!  Below is a summary of info and some websites that you can check out to learn more...

Jr. FLL is for kids 6-8. They work in teams to research an open ended  problem (so they get to focus  on something they choose) and build a model related to the research topic. I've coached Jr. FLL teams for the past two years, and I'll be demonstrating the LEGO WeDo robot that you can get for  your team (designed for K-1st graders) It's very easy to use and program; my 5 year old had no problem changing the program to change the behavior of the robotic model. I'll talk about what it's like to coach a team, how much time and money are required, and what  your kids can learn by participating in the program. I'll also have some pictures with me of the projects that teams showed at the JrFLL Expo held in conjunction with the FLL State Championships this year, so you'll have an idea of what the kids actually end up producing.

FLL is the program for kids from 9-14. FLL teams do a much more involved research project and design and program an autonomous LEGO Mindstorm robot to perform tasks and interact with LEGO models on a 4'x8' playing surface.  The University of Utah runs a coaches training session in August for this program - I believe you can sign up even if you don't have a team registered yet, so check it out and ask all of your questions!
 
For more information, go here:

http://www.techventures.utah.edu/utfll/
http://firstlegoleague.org/
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/jr.fll
https://sites.google.com/site/utahjrfll/

Also, if you search for FIRST LEGO League on YouTube, you'll find videos of
the robot game in action and get a better idea of what that part of the
program is about.