Dear Web Visitor,

Thank you for visiting the First State FIRST Lego League (FLL & JrFLL) home on the World Wide Web! Please take a few minutes to learn about our organization, our history, and the events we organize for you.

Regards,

Lou Rosanio

First State FIRST LEGO League Event Coordinator

SUPPORTING FLL Teams:

Members of the Miracle Workerz began working to start up First Lego League teams in 2001. Efforts that year resulted in registration of 2 teams: one at St. Mary Magdalene's School and the other at H.B. DuPont Middle School. As efforts increased and word spread about the program, so did the number of teams. In 2002, MOE students began partnering as mentos to local teams. They taught programming skills for the RCX and design ideas. Team 365 also offers financial assistance to both new and returning FLL teams.

First State FLL State Tournament (DE):

As the number of FLL teams grew in our area, so did the size of our tournaments. In 2001, the Miracle Workerz Team 365 held a "Rookie Invitational" in an elementary school gymnasium for 6 FLL teams. The following year, our "Invitational" tournament was held at Delaware Technical & Community College and 16 teams competed. By 2003, our FLL mission evolved into us hosting Delaware's official State Tournament! Our event drew 34 teams from nearby Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. We again needed to move to a larger venue -- the University of Delaware's Bob Carpenter Center -- was the ideal new home for our high-energy competition. This site enable FLL to gain higher visibility in the community and the opportunity to expand even further. 54 teams participated in the 2005-06 "Ocean Odyssey" tournament, along with 54 Jr. LEGO League teams.  The First State FLL and JrFLL events grow every year!

The First State event at the Bob Carpenter Center is now the largest singe day FIRST event in the world!

Teams come from 6 states! 

Overview of the FLL and JFLL programs:

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a national organization whose mission is to design accessible, innovative programs that help young people build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating them to pursue opportunities in math, science and technology careers. FIRST engages teams of high school, middle school and grammar school students, working with adult coaches and mentors, in researching, designing and building robots and participating in games of skill and strategy meant to transfer the enthusiasm youth feel for athletics to the field of math, science and engineering. Founded in 1992 by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, FIRST has grown from a single event to a multi-event international format.

FIRST LEGO League and Junior FIRST LEGO League, are designed to provide middle and grammar school children with an age-appropriate version of the FIRST experience. While the core activity is technological innovation, FIRST is a multidisciplinary activity engaging all academic disciplines in a school-based robotics “enterprise.” In addition to exposing young people to the possibilities of science, technology, and engineering, FIRST promotes community service, good sportsmanship, and “gracious professionalism,” which means treating even opponents with respect and taking responsibility for improving one’s community and introducing others to the value of science, technology, and engineering. These values are espoused in the FIRST materials and are also encouraged through the structure of the game and system of awards.

A pre-competition survey conducted in 2000 and completed by 3,100 new and returning FIRST participants found that:

• Returning FIRST students’ attitudes about science and math were significantly more positive than those of new students;

• Returning FIRST students’ perceived knowledge of science and math careers was significantly greater than that of new students;

• Returning FIRST students were significantly more likely than new students to indicate their intention to continue pursuing science, math, engineering, and/or technology in the education and career arenas;

• Returning FIRST students had significantly more positive attitudes about the working world than new participants; and

• Returning FIRST students’ self images were significantly more positive than those of first-time participants.

In 2001, FIRST LEGO League came to the Delaware area and was named First State FIRST LEGO League. That year the tournament was held in a local grammar school gym and consisted of 6 teams (48 students). Today there are a total of 6 First State FIRST Lego and Junior Lego League events that feed into an annual Champion’s Tournament held at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center. What began with 6 teams and 48 students now engages 140 teams and over 1,000 students.