• Forges the connection between classroom lessons and real-world application.
• Experience STEM fields as future areas of study and career choices.
• Work side-by-side with mentors from a variety of backgrounds: education, industry, government.
• Get hands-on programming and rapid prototyping experience
• Apply the engineering process and learn to find the opportunity in failure.
• Gain access to over $80 million in FIRST dedicated college scholarships.
• Rise to the top in consideration for college admissions, internships, apprenticeships.
• Join over 525 Michigan upper elementary school FIRST LEGO League teams in the premier STEM robotics program in the state!

FIRST LEGO League is the name of an overall program for elementary students with three separate divisions within that:

• FIRST LEGO League Challenge for 4th grade to the end of elementary school
• FIRST LEGO League Explore for Kindergarten to 3rd grade
• FIRST LEGO League Discover for Preschool only

All Michigan teams must follow the Michigan age ranges which vary from the overall FIRST age ranges you see on firstinspires.org in order to allow our grant-supported PreK-12 Progression of Programs which makes FIRST accessible to all Michigan students.

What FIRST LEGO League Challenge is all about
Elementary students work together to research a real-world engineering problem, then create an original solution for the program. They also design, build, and program a robot to accomplish missions on a yearly themed playing field. The theme changes each year, but the FLL Core Values that teams learn do not. The team’s season culminates in a competition where they celebrate and share the work they have done together with other teams.
What sets FLL apart from other programs

• The FIRST Core Values. Students learn that friendly competition and mutual gain are not separate goals, and they gain valuable teamwork skills.
• Programming autonomous robots. Students learn solid thinking and programming skills as they carefully plan missions.
• The Project. Students are encouraged to think about real-world problems and engage. They also learn invaluable public speaking and other soft skills.
• The FIRST Progression and $81 million in scholarships. Students can participate in FIRST in K-12 and graduates can apply for college scholarships just for FIRST students.

There are two entities that work together to grow and support teams.
FIRST HQ provides:

• Team registration
• FLL Storefront to purchase robot kit and Challenge Set
• Yearly Challenge design and materials

FIRST in Michigan provides:

• Access to FIRST programs in MI
• Michigan specific information and grants
• Local Events/Competitions
• Local resources

FIRST in Michigan (FIM) operates a progression of programs which differs from what you’ll see on the FIRST national website. In Michigan, FIRST LEGO League Challenge is the sole program for late elementary school students with teams comprised of late elementary grade students only. Middle school students are encouraged to serve as mentors to FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams, but cannot operate as team members. Teams must be properly aligned in order to be eligible for FIRST in Michigan grants and to participate in any FIRST in Michigan events.

Finding an existing team
FIRST in Michigan does not place students on teams, and FIRST privacy policies forbid us from sharing coach contact information. Our role is to assist new teams in forming by connecting them to local resources to help them be successful and sustainable. Almost all teams in Michigan are organized through elementary schools, so contact your child’s school to find out if a team exists and how to join. Some 4-H groups, Girl Scout groups, and youth organizations also have teams. If the team is full, or if there is no team existing, we would be happy to assist you in starting a new team and our grants will pay for your robot kit and registration fee!
Is there a list of Michigan teams?
Visit the Michigan Team List to locate area teams.
Start a team
Use the information below to start a new team at your school or organization if one does not already exist or you need additional teams.

Coordinate with your school or organization for grant funding
Teams must be affiliated with a school or an established youth enrichment 501c3 organization (i.e. 4H, Scouts) to maximum the use of available grants. Through this affiliation, the team number and the Kit of Parts is the property of the school/organization for reuse year to year. Grant funds cannot be paid out to individuals.
For the MI Department of Education (MDE) FIRST Robotics grant, teams must be affiliated with an MDE recognized public or non-public school, charter, academy. When registering your team, make sure to select the affiliated school or organization, as this is necessary for grant payment.

Create or access your account
Team registration and administration is done through the FIRST account of the individual(s) holding a key role for the team. It is accessed via the FIRST website http://www.firstinspires.org/ through the links in the top menu bar.

• Create a FIRST Account – This is a “one time” activity for a new user: https://my.firstinspires.org/AccountManager/Account/Register.
• Log in to an existing FIRST Account – If the user already has a FIRST account, team registration and administration is done by clicking on “Log In”.

Register your team at the FIRST site
Teams register for the season at FIRSTinspires.org, the FIRST website, under the Teams tab. Registration begins in May each year for the new challenge. You do not need to know your team members yet to register a team!

• Rookie Teams – Choose Create New Team(s). You will receive a permanent team number to identify your team at events and on grant applications.
• Veteran Teams – Choose your team name from the previous year. Remember that a team’s team number and Kit of Parts is reusable and retained from year to year. Veteran teams register for the season using their team’s previously assigned team number.

Pay for registration and materials
New teams should purchase a Team Registration, Challenge Set, and a SPIKE Prime robot set. Returning teams should purchase a Team Registration and Challenge Set.

Team member age
FIRST LEGO League Challenge in Michigan is limited to students in late elementary grades. This means that students must be in 4th or 5th grade. Students who are in 6th grade in a district with K-6 elementary schools are also permitted to join FIRST LEGO League Challenge. Students in a K-8 school are divided between elementary and middle school based on what the district the school is in uses as a division, but the maximum age for FIRST LEGO League Challenge is most 6th grade. Middle school 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are eligible to join FIRST Tech Challenge teams instead.
Team member registration
Parents create an account and then register their children with the team. This includes signing Consent and Release forms online. Once this is completed, the Coach accepts the team members and creates a Team Roster which is printed to turn in when checking in at events. Each team member must be registered before attending an event. Allow ample time for parents to complete this process by starting several weeks before your event. You can find detailed directions for team rosters and student registration at the ‘Michigan Event Readiness’ page.
Team size
The maximum number of students on a FIRST LEGO League Challenge team is 10 and this is strictly enforced. The minimum team size is two students, though this is not conducive to learning teamwork skills. Teams typically have 5-8 members. The small-team concept works well with the platform and encourages a closely knit team where all are engaged. Multiple teams per school/organization are welcomed and grants are available to start additional teams!

Number of coaches
Every team is required to have two registered adult coaches who have completed the FIRST Youth Protection screening process. Any adult can be a coach – teacher, parent, industry professional, college student.
Team mentors
Mentors provide assistance to teams, at one or more meetings, in their particular area of expertise. They provide valuable one-on-one interaction and serve as a resource in their specialty. Mentors with skills in these areas are helpful, but not mandatory: engineering, programming, build, communications, administration. High school FRC students can also serve as mentors to FLL teams.
Coach skills
Coaching a FIRST LEGO League Challenge team requires no technical background or experience! Students do all the work (that’s the rule!) so coaches should not worry if they are not experienced with the robot or the yearly challenge topic. Coaches can seek out mentors or older robotics students to guide students in their robot building and programming. Coaches can also learn more about the robot from the Robot Resources at the Resources page. FIRST also has curriculum and other resources available to new coaches; see Coach Resources at the Resources page.
The role of parents
Parents not serving as a coach or mentor can still be very helpful to a team. Some example of tasks parents can complete include: ordering t-shirts, buying supplies, building the robot table, providing snacks at meetings, organizing transportation to events, coordinating lunch at events, finding sponsors, assisting at meetings, and volunteering at events.

Team meeting place
Teams can meet anywhere that is appropriate and safe such as a school, homes of team members, meeting hall, or a sponsor provided location. Things to look for in a meeting site: work space large enough for the team members and a 4’x8′ game field, internet access (if possible), a secure place to store equipment between meeting. It is also nice to have table space and chairs for team meetings. May teams meet in a classroom, the media center, or a school library or science lab, but teams also meet in cafeterias, gyms, school hallways, public libraries, YMCAs, and homes.
Team meeting times
Most teams spend about eight weeks preparing for a tournament. It is important to set a regular schedule and procedure for team meetings. Many new teams start by meeting twice a week for two hours, then adjust their schedule as needed. Michigan qualifying tournaments begin in early November, so teams should plan to start meeting in early September to maximize their meeting time. Teams can also be successful with a shorter season if they meet more often. Teams have even completed their rookie season with just a few weeks before competition!

Michigan FIRST LEGO League Challenge Schedule

May	FIRST LEGO League Challenge team registration opens for the new season
August	Challenge is released
August/September – November	Teams meet
October	Register for a qualifying event
November	Qualifying tournaments
December	Michigan Championships
TBD	World Festival

Materials to purchase the first year

• A SPIKE Prime to build your robot. Your robot set (SPIKE Prime set and SPIKE Prime Expansion set) will be purchased during team registration in one step. If your school already has a robot set, you are not required to purchase a new one. There is no advantage to using either a MINDSTORMS EV3 or SPIKE PRIME, and teams can choose either if they already have a MINDSTORMS EV3.
• At least one laptop or tablet to program your robot. Install free MINDSTORMS EV3 or SPIKE Prime software from LEGO Education.
• Wooden field table (recommended) or 4’x8′ clear floor or tables space to place Challenge mat. You can find plans to build the field table on the Resources page.

Materials needed each year

• Challenge Set consisting of an exclusive selection of LEGO bricks, dual lock fasteners, and a roll-out field mat. One yearly themed set per team is available for purchase during registration. Multiple teams at a single school can share a Challenge Set if they do not meet at the same time.
• Project presentation materials such as poster board and paper.

Optional materials

• T-shirts, hats, and/or other “team swag”. Most teams have a unique team identity which includes dressing alike.
• Cart or box to store robot and robot attachments.

Electronic materials

• Challenge Guide and Challenge Guide updates, Mission Model Building Instructions (see ‘Season-Specific Resources’)

Typical budget for team

Item	Cost	Comments
SPIKE PRIME Robot Kit	$425+s/h	One-time team purchase
Registration	$225+s/h	Required for all teams each year
Challenge Set	$75+s/h	Purchased each year during registration
Field Table	about $60	Optional one-time expense
Tournament registration	$75	Paid directly at tournament in November
Project supplies	$30-50	Poster boards, paper, props, etc.
Team spirit items	about $10-15 per student	T-shirts, hats, posters, etc. Can also be paid by team members.
First year expenses average $1000 per team. The FIRST in Michigan Rookie Grant will reimburse a team up to $772 to cover the cost of the robot set and their first registration and challenge set. Additional grants can also cover the remaining expenses.
Returning teams should expect to spend about $500 per year. Grants are available to offset these costs for Michigan teams.

Available grants for rookies and existing teams
The FIRST in Michigan Rookie Team Grant covers a team’s initial start up costs which include the annual team registration fee and kit of parts purchase. A team must be affiliated with a school or established 501c3 organization to be eligible for the FIRST in Michigan grant. Additional grants are available based on team and mentor affiliation.
Other sources of team funding
Teams are encouraged to take responsibility for their budget in order to sustain the team:

• • Reach out to area businesses – especially those related to technology – for sponsorship.
  • Have the parents of team members check with their employers as many companies offer grant funds for youth STEM programs where employees are actively involved.
  • Charge a per student fee to cover team expenses.
  • Hold team fundraisers.
  • Connect with organizations such as your school, parent organization, scout group, or area professional organizations who may be able to assist with funding.
  • Seek STEM grants from local or national organizations.

Roles of coaches/mentors and students
In FIRST LEGO League Challenge, the rule is “All work presented at an official event is the work of the children on the team.” All parts of the project and robot building and programming must be completed by the students, with guidance from their coaches and mentors.
Resources for planning team meetings
FIRST has developed free curriculum which is available to all coaches through the Thinkscape tab in their FIRSTinspires.org account. It can be used as a stand-alone course or as a supplement to areas where the team needs extra support. In addition, teams will receive Team Meeting Guides for coaches and Engineering Notebooks for students included with their registration. These resources can be followed to guide team meeting time.

The Core Values
You can find a description of the FIRST Core Values – Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun – at the FIRST site. The Core Values were revised for the 2018 season, so you may find conflicting lists (there were 10 Core Values previously) in outside resources. Make sure your team is using the new list linked here.
Practicing the Core Values
Unlike the Robot Game and Innovation Project, which have tangible products to prepare for tournaments, the Core Values guide HOW you complete your work as a team. Many teams choose to discuss and practice their Core Values skills during their meetings as well. You can find Core Values activities, which teams can use at meetings to practice teamwork, under Core Values Resources on the Resources page. Core Values work is also integrated into the Team Meeting Guide/Engineering Notebook available to teams.
Core Values Poster
The Core Values poster is one way for teams to track and display what they have learned about the FIRST Core Values during their season. The poster is NOT required at qualifying or state tournaments in Michigan.

The Innovation Project
Also sometimes referred to as the Research Project or just the Project, this portion of the yearly challenge puts the theme into real-world context for teams. There are three parts which must be completed by teams: identify a problem, design a solution, and share with others. Each team shares their Innovation Project with judges in a five minute presentation or skit at their tournament.
Completing the Innovation Project
There are many resources and guidance included in the Challenge Guide each year to assist teams in their research and innovation. You can also find links to videos from FIRST about completing the project and some sample project presentations under Innovation Project Resources on the Resources page.

The Robot
This portion of the yearly challenge includes building and programming a robot made entirely of LEGO parts to complete one or more of the themed missions on the robot table. While most teams will use a MINDSTORMS EV3 or SPIKE PRIME, teams can also use the older NXT. The robot is used in two ways at tournaments. Teams will run their robot in four 2-1/2 minute matches. Teams will also present their robot as part of their judging session, where they will describe the process they used to design, build, and program their robot to judges.
Learning to Build and Program the Robot
There are many resources available to teams to help build their robot. There is an annotated list of resources available, both from LEGO Education and FIRST and from other sources, under ‘Robot Resources’ on the Resources page of this site. The robot build is also integrated into the Team Meeting Guide/Engineering Notebook.
Building the Challenge Set
The first step to building the robot is actually building the LEGO mission models in the Challenge Set. It is helpful to complete this before the team begins meeting or very early in the meetings. Many teams build the models as a group on a Saturday or evening, or even during the summer before school starts, but you can also build them at a team meeting.
The Robot Design Executive Summary (RDES)
The RDES is NOT required at Michigan qualifying or championship events, though the format is still a useful tool for teams to prepare their robot judging presentation.
Robot Judging
A robot game table is no longer in the Robot Design judging room during FLL tournaments. Instead, teams describe to judges the process they used to design, build, and program their robot. For a rookie team, this may simply be each student presenting a few facts about their robot. For more experienced competitive teams, the RDES format allows students to practice presenting their engineering process to judges. While the Robot Game tests the scoring capabilities of the finished robot, the Robot Design judging discovers what the student team members learned about the engineering process, strategy, building, and programming during the season. Teams are not required to have an engineering notebook or any other written materials as part of their robot judging, and judges will not have time to look at extensive written materials, though it is helpful to print out your program to show judges.

Types of events
Each Michigan FIRST LEGO League team which meets the Michigan progressions will be able to participate in one Qualifying Tournament. A portion of teams will advance to one of two Championship Tournaments, which will select several teams to advance to the World Festival in Detroit, MI. Teams advance based on a combination of their Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design, and Robot Game.
Each team receiving grants must participate in a FIRST in Michigan official event.

• • • • Scrimmages: Non-official local events; smaller scale; variable format. Teams can play in as many as they want. Scrimmages are run by teams or other groups and are not supported or endorsed by FIRST in Michigan.
      • Qualifiers:Official events that advance a set number of teams to the Michigan FIRST LEGO League State Championship. These events are run by Tournament Directors under the direction of FIRST in Michigan.
      • Michigan FIRST LEGO League State Championship: Official events that advance a set number of teams to the FIRST Championship.
      • FIRST Championship: FIRST’s culminating event

Event locations and dates
There will be events across Michigan. Events are posted on the EVENTS site page and the FIRST website in September and October. If there is not an event listed in your area, or you would like to add an additional event, please contact Angela Hite for information on hosting an event.
Event costs
For FIRST in Michigan, the event fee comprises the budget for the event host. The qualifier event fee is $75 and the state championship event fee is $100 for 2022 events.

Michigan Event Registration
For FIRST LEGO League in Michigan, registration is done at the local level, and not with FIRST. The Events page will provide in depth information on the process. Teams will see their confirmed event placement in the Michigan Team List, and NOT on their Team Dashboard. Information on event registration is emailed to all registered teams and registration occurs in early October.

Teams can find information about preparing for their event, as well as a checklist of what to bring, at the Tournament Prep page linked at the top of the Events page (available mid-September each year.)

Overview
A typical event begins early in the morning with team registration and then opening ceremonies. During the morning, teams participate in a judging session and may run robot matches as well. After a lunch break, teams continue robot matches while the judges deliberate. Everyone meets back together late in the afternoon for the closing ceremonies, where all teams are recognized for their accomplishments and trophy winner are announced.
Judging Sessions
Each team will participate in a combined judging sessions covering Core Values, Project, and Robot Game.
Robot Game
Each team gets four robot matches at a tournament, and only the highest score counts for the competition. Teams can run the same missions each time, or try something different. Only one robot is allowed at the table, and no electronic devices as all robot actions must be autonomous. Robot matches are an exciting time for teams, usually with music and an announcer and cheering fans, as well as official referees scoring the matches. While the whole team goes to the field, each team has two students at a time act as technicians and actually run the robot at the table. You can find full rules for the Robot Game in the yearly Challenge Guide.

Judging Materials
Teams should bring their robot and any written information they would like to share with judges to their judging session. Engineering notebooks, while useful during team meetings, are not required for FLL judging. Judges will have little time to look at them if they are provided, so teams should focus on telling the judges what they want them to know instead of relying on written materials. It is recommended that teams print out their robot code to show the judges, though.
Teams should bring materials, props, posters, etc. for their innovation project to the judging session. Most venues do not have available projection or electrical outlets, and the time required to set up equipment is part of the team’s allotted judging time. Teams should choose live presentations rather than videos or slideshows.
There are no required materials for core values in judging sessions and no time during the judging session is allocated to a Core Values presentation or display.
Coaches in Judging Sessions
Most events allow coaches and sometimes other adults in the judging rooms with limits, and this depends on space available. Coaches must sit in the rear of the room out of the team’s line of sight and not interact with the team during the judging session, nor interact with the judges before, during, or after the session. Coaches must exit the judging room with the team.
Judging Resources
Teams can view the Judging Rubrics that the judges will use to determine award winners at this site’s ‘Resources’ page under ‘Season-Specific Resources’ each year. Teams will receive their completed rubrics back after the end of the competition.

FIRST LEGO League Challenge Awards
Michigan FIRST LEGO League Challenge Awards. Optional awards are at the discretion of the event host.

Advancement to States and the FIRST Championship
Teams are eligible for advancement from their Qualifying Event. Each event has a designated number of advancement spots to the Michigan FIRST LEGO League State Championship. From States, teams can earn one of the designated advancement spots to FIRST Championship-Detroit. All procedures for advancement are detailed in the Michigan Advancement Policy.

Sign up to Judge at an event
Team coaches make great volunteers, and the experience shows you what happens “behind the scenes”, information you can use to improve your own team. Sign up at an event you are not attending or the state championship: FLL Volunteer page.

Use the off-season to prepare yourself or your team for the next season
Many teams continue to meet after competitions are finished. You can find resources to continue working with your robot at the Resources page, as well as ideas for team building with Core Values activities.

Host an event at your school or organization
Details coming soon.

Help support FLL throughout the state
If you are interested in joining the state FLL committee, please email Angela Hite, FIRST in Michigan FLL Director, for more information.

Start more teams at your school
If your school has more students interested than teams available, check out our Grants page to find out how to start additional teams at no cost to your school.
Start more teams at schools in your area or district
If your students love FLL, spread the program in your area so more students can experience FIRST! Encourage colleagues at other schools in your district or other schools in your area to start their own teams.

For help with finding or starting a team, event registration, and general team support:
email Angela Hite, Michigan FIRST LEGO League Challenge Director
For help with team registration or your firstinspires.org account:
contact FIRST team support by email or by calling 1-800-871-8326
For help with team registration payment or purchase orders:
contact FIRST finance by email or by calling 1-800-871-8326 x563
For help with LEGO challenge set or robot kit:
contact US LEGO Education by email or by calling 1-800-362-4308

For students or teams entering Middle School
You can find out more about joining or starting a FIRST Tech Challenge team by contacting Tammy Damrath, FIRST in Michigan FTC Director. Generous grants are available to start new FTC teams.