Events

Upcoming events

There is a regional FLL tournament at Aspen Middle School on November 6th (all teams should compete) and in Grand Junction on November 13th.

FAQs

Q: What should the kids be doing now?

A: All team rosters are finalized. We are not accepting any new kids in the club as the season ends at the beginning of November. The teams have built two identical basic competition robots, and have been programming them to complete missions (using the EV3 Classroom app from the google playstore onto their chromebooks). This is also the time to start discussing ideas and resources for the Innovations Project if you have not already started. Every team needs to keep an engineering notebook and document ideas and designs.

Q: How many competition fields will we have?

A: There are two fields set up in the robotics room for teams to practice their missions.

Q: Can my team come in to work anytime after school? Do I have to be there every day?

A: Teams may come in and work on their projects whenever there is an adult available to monitor the room. This is usually on most days after school from 3:45 to 5:30 and occasionally on a weekend. They should check in with their coaches. A parent volunteer signup sheet has been posted on this website. Every student has a different ability to commit to FLL, subject to involvement in other extracurricular activities. Some students can come only once a week and others have been there 3 or 4 days a week, working hard on design and programming. The most focused and self-directed kids, who are working the most, are also making the greatest progress. Even students who can only participate once a week are learning and helping their teammates.

Q: Does my team have to compete?

A: Competition is a great learning experience, and we expect all teams to complete a robotics and Innovations project for the regional tournament at the Aspen Middle School on November 6. A few highly motivated teams can progress to the Grand Junction tournament on November 13.

Q: Can I eat in the classroom?

A: The classroom is part of the library and snacks are not allowed. If you need to have a snack, please eat it outside and then come back ready to work.

Q: When does robotics season end?

A: The season for robotics ends in November with the Grand Junction tournament, unless your team makes it to the state championship tournament in early December.

Q: What if I (student or parent coach) have no experience building robots or writing code?

A: The purpose of this club is to learn and have fun. There are printed sheets with step by step instructions on building a basic robot with sensors. There are technical coaches with a lot of experience who can guide you with your coding. The coding is intuitive and similar to Scratch.

Q: What if I don't want to work on a team?

A: This is a team-based club that is run by parent volunteers, who are giving up many hours of their time to help students have this unique project-based learning experience. If you do not want to work with teammates, you should stay home and build Legos by yourself. There is not a lot of time before the regional competitions. Out of consideration for other students, anyone who is disruptive and cannot demonstrate the core values of gracious professionalism and cooperation will be asked to leave the program.