What is FLL?
FIRST Lego League (FLL) is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students. Every year in August, FIRST introduces a scientific and real-world challenge for FLL teams to solve. FLL teams design and program Lego SPIKE robots that complete tasks. Then, teams meet at regional tournaments to share their knowledge, compare ideas, and display their robots. Competitions are split into three sections and a robot round. The first session, Core Values, judges how well a team works together and then asks participants to perform a teamwork exercise. During the second session, the Robot Design, teams explain how they designed their robot and demonstrate their programs to the judges. During the third session, the Project, students must research a topic related to the current challenge and create an innovative solution. Teams have five minutes to present their ideas, and the judges have another 5 minutes to ask questions. Finally, students run their robots to autonomously complete a set of tasks on the challenge mat.
The La Canada Engineering Club hosts 5 elementary-school level FLL teams in Room 604 that have 2 officially scheduled meetings every week. Teams consist of around 8 students and 2 high school mentors who work with the younger students to assist in their thought process and design. Historically, the Engineering Club has also hosted several offseason and seasonal FLL tournaments, including the Blockhead Bash and FLL Regional tournaments, the latter of which is the final step before the State and World Championships.
FLL students will also have the opportunity to participate in a summer enrichment course that may prepare them for the upcoming season. For details, please check HelloClub.
Common Questions
When?
Select teams may participate in off-season activities, which begin following the final tournament of the season and end on the FLL kickoff date. Aside from this, most teams will meet twice a week during the school year after La Canada High School is released from the school day.
Where?
All FLL teams operate exclusively out of Room 604, or the workshop, at La Canada High School in La Canada Flintridge California. Tournaments may take place at other schools in the Los Angeles area, and out-of-city and out-of-state competitions are a possibility if teams progress far enough.
Cost?
The La Canada Engineering Club is supported by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization called Blockhead Boosters. This organization receives no funding from the La Canada Unified School District and relies on sponsorships, fundraisers, and membership donations to subsidize season costs. As such, we request that all students enrolled in any of our FLL teams make a lab donation. Please check HelloClub for more information and/or contact us for more support.
How do I register?
Visit our registration page for details.