FLL Challenge

About the program

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is one of three divisions by age group of the FIRST® LEGO® League program and serves children ages 9–14. This program inspires young people to experiment and grow their confidence, critical thinking, and design skills through hands-on learning.

Friendly competition is at the heart of FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge, as teams of students ages 9–14 engage in research, problem-solving, coding and engineering — building and programming a LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime or LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ robot that navigates the missions of a robot game.

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge allows elementary and middle school students and their adult coaches to work together to research a real-world problem, then create an original solution for that problem. The theme changes each season, requiring teams to be extraordinarily creative. 

The essentials

There are three essential parts to FLL Challenge: Core Values, the robot game and the innovation project.

Core Values

  • Apply teamwork and discovery to explore the challenge.
  • Innovate with new ideas about your robot and project.
  • Show how your team and your solutions will have an impact and be inclusive!
  • Celebrate by having fun in everything you do!

Robot Game

  • Design and build your robot.
  • Program it to solve robot game missions.
  • Design any attachments your robot will need to complete the missions.
  • Explain how your robot will act based on the code you wrote.
  • Describe your strategies for the robot game.

Innovation Project

  • Identify a problem to solve.
  • Design a solution to the problem for your community.
  • Share your ideas, learn from others and improve your solution.
  • Pitch your solution.
  • Prepare a five-minute presentation to explain your innovation project.

FIRST LEGO League is transforming how we teach and learn—students develop confidence, collaboration, and critical thinking while teachers grow alongside them, discovering new ways to support innovation, problem-solving, and joy in learning.

CUSD FLL CoordinatorChandler Unified School District

Season timeline

Each year in early August, FIRST® LEGO® League releases a new challenge for teams that focuses on a scientific topic. Teams are sent on a journey of discovery to learn all they can about the topic, then present their findings in the form of an Innovative Project. Teams also build and program a LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime robot that navigates the missions of a robot game.

Teams start their season in August and are invited to participate in a local qualifying tournament. Teams that qualify will be invited to participate in the Arizona FLL Challenge State Championship hosted by Arizona State University in January. One to three teams will then be invited to compete at the FIRST® World Championship in April.

Dig into the upcoming UNEARTHED™ Season

During the 2025–2026 archaeology-inspired robotics season FIRST® AGE™ presented by Qualcomm, students will use their STEM skills and creativity to discover the past and uncover the future together. Launching Aug. 5, 2025, the FIRST® LEGO® League UNEARTHED season will be an experience for the ages. Season registration will begin May 14, 2025, in the FIRST® Dashboard. 

In this archaeology-themed robotics season, engage your students in STEM hands-on learning and empower them to connect with real-life issues and develop important skills, including:

  • Critical thinking.
  • Collaboration.
  • Problem-solving.
  • Design thinking.
  • Creativity.
  • Leadership.
  • Coding.
  • Communication.

Getting started

The really cool thing about FIRST® LEGO® League is that all skill levels are welcome and needed, technical or non-technical.

There are two options for introducing students to the world of FLL Challenge:

Individual Team: Many FLL teams begin with a small group of students, their families and friends, often meeting in a home basement or garage as a space to work, build and program their robots. Individual teams form via schools, youth organizations, and community groups.

Start an individual team
Access the FIRST® Resource Library

Class Packs: FIRST® Class Packs provide implementation options for grades 4–8 classrooms and structured after-school programs. FIRST® Class Pack resources prepare educators and facilitators to guide their students as they begin or continue a journey of STEM exploration using real-world scenarios and challenges. Immerse students in research, problem-solving, coding and engineering using a curriculum that will engage them in a range of rigorous and relevant learning opportunities. Students will develop an innovative solution to a real-world problem and design, build and code a LEGO® robot to solve themed challenge missions.

Learn about FLL Challenge Class Packs

For more information about FIRST® LEGO® League in Arizona, contact [email protected].