FIRST® LEGO® League is a global robotics life skills programme which provides hands-on STEM experiences for children aged 4-16 years.
The programme is delivered through three FIRST® LEGO® League divisions for children of different age ranges to participate in.
We’ve even mapped FIRST® LEGO® League to the national curriculums within the UK and Ireland. This is to support teachers with their planning and shows just how versatile the programme is in covering so many learning areas.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) are proud to be the delivery partners for FIRST® LEGO® League across the UK and Ireland.
We are committed to inspiring the next generation of engineers and technicians, and FIRST® LEGO® League is a fantastic way to do this.
The programme is split into three divisions, by age range and each of these inspire students to experiment and grow their critical thinking through hands-on theme-based challenges which change from season to season.
This year’s theme is CARGO CONNECT℠ and is all about exploring how cargo is transported to different destinations around the world.
Teams are tasked with designing a solution to making transporting cargo more efficient and making sure they have lots of fun in the process!
FIRST® LEGO® League Discover (4-6 years)
FIRST® LEGO® League Discover is for 4–6-year olds. This playful introductory STEM programme ignites children’s natural curiosity and builds their habits of learning with hands-on activities in the classroom and at home using LEGO® Duplo bricks.
Learn more about FIRST® LEGO® League Discover class pack for your classroom here.
FIRST® LEGO® League Explore (6-9 years)
In FIRST® LEGO® League Explore, a programme for 6-9 years old, children team up and focus on the fundamentals of engineering as they explore real-world problems, learn to design and code, and create unique solutions made with LEGO® bricks, followed by teams presenting back their findings.
It makes children feel proud of what they have achieved – encouraging them to continue engaging with STEM.
FIRST® LEGO® League Explore can be delivered in two ways: you can sign up to attend one of our festivals or deliver it in class – it’s completely flexible! Find out how to get involved here.
FIRST® LEGO League Challenge (9-16 years)
Friendly competition is at the heart of FIRST® LEGO League Challenge as teams of young people between the ages of 9-14 work together to explore a given topic and to design, build and program an autonomous LEGO® robot to solve a series of missions.
This programme helps encourage an interest in real-world themes and develop key skills that are crucial for pupils’ future careers.
FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge can be delivered in two ways: FIRST® LEGO® League Class packs or tournament regional events.
Challenge Class Pack is an ‘in house’ version of the international STEM programme. It gives you the opportunity, resources and guidance to run and deliver the programme within curriculum time or with a larger group of children.
Find out how to register your class here.
At a FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge tournament, you will have a day packed with lots of fun and we promise that you’ll come away inspired.
Teams come together to showcase their amazing work they’ve produced over the course of the programme.
There will be a 30-minute judging session where the team will meet with a panel of friendly judges and present to them their innovation project, as well as their robot design and coding. Find a tournament near you here.
To find out more information about the exciting STEM programmes in FIRST® LEGO® League and to get your school involved in the fun, click here.
