NERD Lebanon
  • NERD X | Season Info
  • Competitions
    • Open Championship
    • Junior Discovery
    • FLL Junior
    • FIRST LEGO League
    • FIRST Tech Challenge
  • Volunteer
  • Pricing & Registration
  • Founders & Partners
  • History
  • NERD X | Season Info
  • Competitions
    • Open Championship
    • Junior Discovery
    • FLL Junior
    • FIRST LEGO League
    • FIRST Tech Challenge
  • Volunteer
  • Pricing & Registration
  • Founders & Partners
  • History
NERD Lebanon

WHAT IS FIRST LEGO League?

How to start a team?

Young innovators practice imaginative thinking and teamwork. FIRST LEGO League focuses on solving real-world problems such as food safety, recycling, energy, and more using STEM concepts, plus a big dose of fun. With the guidance of two or more coaches, teams of 2 to 10 members apply science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts to solve a real-world problem.

Teams design, build, and program a LEGO MINDSTORMS robot, then compete on a themed table-top playing field. Along their journey, students develop critical-thinking and team-building skills, build STEM self-confidence, and gain valuable perspective on the importance of failure in the learning process.

1

Recruit up to 10 interested team members ages 9 to 15. Team members must not exceed the maximum age on January 1 of the year the challenge is released.  Students can only be on one team, but a coach is allowed to coach multiple teams.

2

Once you have a team, register your team at the tournament. Every team needs:
  • Challenge Set - the practice field for your robot, including an exclusive selection of LEGO bricks, dual lock fasteners, and a roll-out field mat. The challenge Set changes with the new challenge every season, and is included with registration.
  • A LEGO MINDSTORMS set to build your robot - if your team already has a LEGO MINDSTORMS set, you are not required to buy it again. 

3

Join one of our open training sessions to get to know the details of the challenge and how you can prepare for the sessions with your students. If no open training sessions are available, you can request a private training by sending us an email at info@NERDLEBANON.com

4

Most teams spend about eight weeks preparing for a tournament. Many new teams start by meeting twice a week for one to two hours. See how that works, and then adjust your meeting schedule if you need more or less time. Some teams work on both the Robot Game and the Project for part of each meeting. Others devote one meeting per week to each part of the Challenge. Work with your team to find the right balance. Understand that your team’s robot and Project must be ready before you attend a tournament.
There are costs involved with supporting a FIRST LEGO League team and they can vary between one team and another, depending on the level of participation a team chooses. Below are the two main costs associated with a team depending on their seniority in NERD. 

VETERAN TEAM

Here are some basic cost parameters for returning FLL teams in Lebanon:
  • There are never any “per student” fees; all costs for individual team members are assumed by the team as a group.
  • Fees for the annual team registration is $700 USD (2018/19 season), which includes the season challenge set. A second team registration, or more automatically qualifies for a 40% discount per team. 
  • Investing in team items such as t-shirts, props, giveaway items is very common, make sure you set a budget for that if you're looking to do it and ask the team to design those. Most teams choose to produce them on their own instead of relying on professionals.

NEW TEAM

Here are some basic cost parameters for new FLL teams in Lebanon:
  • There are never any “per student” fees; all costs for individual team members are assumed by the team as a group.
  • A Mindstorms set set costs $755 USD purchased directly from the LEGO Education agent. You can arrange the purchase through us or purchase it on your own.​ whereas the 2018/19 team registration fee is $700 USD, which includes the challenge set. A second team registration, or more automatically qualifies for a 40% discount per team. ​
  • Investing in team items such as t-shirts, props, giveaway items is very common, make sure you set a budget for that if you're looking to do it and ask the team to design those. Most teams choose to produce them on their own instead of relying on professionals.
  • Some teams find it essential to purchase additional robot parts like a color sensor or a servo motor, those aren't very expensive, but worth noting. 

FIRST LEGO League Registration and Robot Game Elements

$700.00
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EV3 Transformer 10V DC

$68.00
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LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Core Set

$755.00
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IMPACT

Proven, verifiable impact! FIRST LEGO League’s positive impact on participants is gratifying and well documented. Over 87% are more interested in doing well in school, and 88% have more interest in attending college. Teams get to:
  • Research challenges facing today’s scientists
  • Design, build, test and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS technology
  • Apply real-world math and science concepts
  • Learn critical thinking, team-building, and presentation skills 
  • Participate in tournaments and celebrations
  • Understand and practice Gracious Professionalism
99%  increase in teamwork skills
97%  increase in problem-solving skills
89%  participate in designing robots

88%  participate in programming robots

84%  actually build robots

​Source: Evaluation of the FIRST® LEGO® League Senior Solutions season (2012-2013). Center for Youth and Communities, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University