Does a FIRST Lego League team sound exciting, yet you aren’t sure it’s right for your family at this time?

Oftentimes,  families who think they might one day want to put together a team, will organize a robotics co-op or club for a year or two prior to starting a formal FLL team.

When I was coaching, between seasons we continued as a robotics co-op and did a more in-depth  study of robotics and real-life applications (i.e. robots and space exploration).

If you have a child interested in the FIRST Lego League or robotics or  your family is interested in putting together a robotics club or you want to study robotics in your homeschool, here are some things to keep in mind:

• If you are thinking of investing in a Lego Mindstorms® kit, the "older" version of Mindstorms® (RIS 2.0) may not be the "latest and greatest" Mindstorms® technology, but it is still a terrific learning tool.  They can still be purchased on eBay and through some retailers.

• If you have a Mindstorms® 2.0 or NXT set and want to set up a "playing field" similar to those in the past FLL tournaments, check with previous teams to see if they are willing to sell or donate an old table set.  Many teams hold on to the old ones for a year or two.  The Mars theme from two years ago is a fun challenge.  A fair percentage of FLL teams are homeschool teams.  Check on local e-groups or through local homeschooling newsletters to see if there is a team in your area willing to sell a set from a previous year.

• You don’t necessarily have to spend all of your “robotics” time building robots.  Investigating  practical applications for robotics can be very hands-on and fun! 

Visit the research portion of the previous FIRST Lego challenges.  Study how robots are used in ocean exploration or to improve the everyday lives of people with a physical handicap.  The philosophy behind the research projects is to show students that robots are not just fun to build, but they perform valuable tasks and can help humans live and learn.