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 Coordinator Chandler 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.

Budget

Costs for starting a FIRST LEGO League Challenge team will vary depending on the level of participation. FIRST® and ASU never charge any “per student” fees; all costs for individual team members are assumed by the team as a group.

A new rookie team should expect to spend between $1000 and $1500 for their first season, since costs will include one-time costs in addition to annual purchases.
A veteran team should budget about $600 for annual purchases.

Funding Resources

FLL Challenge Budget Worksheet
FIRST® Fundraising Toolkit
FIRST® team grants
Contact Arizona FIRST® Senior Mentor and fundraising expert Susan Garduño at [email protected].
Check the AZFLL Event Calendar to see when ASU is running its grant program, typically from July to August at the beginning of each season. ASU accepts applications in two waves: Round 1 is from mid-July until the season kickoff on the first Tuesday of August. Round 2 opens immediately following the kickoff and remains open until funds run out. Check the Event Calendar for details on ASU’s grant program for Arizona FLL teams.

One-time costs

Official FLL Table:
- Optional but highly recommended.
- Building instructions
- Teams should budget around $100 if they choose to build a wooden table.
- Can be shared with other teams.
- If you cannot find or build a table, you could place your field on a clean smooth solid floor instead.
Robot Set:
- LEGO Education SPIKE™ Prime Set
  - $400 plus shipping and handling.
  - Minimum of one set per team.
  - Can be ordered from your FIRST® dashboard or directly from LEGO Education.
- LEGO Education SPIKE™ Prime Expansion Set
  - $157 plus shipping and handling.
  - Optional but highly recommended.
  - Can be ordered from your FIRST® dashboard or directly from LEGO Education. If you purchase from FIRST®, the expansion set is always bundled with the base set.
- LEGO Education SPIKE™ app is free.
- Additional Robot Parts
  - Some teams allocate a budget for additional parts to supplement the LEGO SPIKE Prime sets.
- Note that LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Set or equivalent NXT, RCX, or EV3 are allowed. These sets are no longer in production, but can be used if you have access to them.

Annual costs

Team Registration:
- For the 2025/2026 season, the registration fee is $275 plus shipping and handling.
- This fee is required and is paid directly to FIRST® from your dashboard.
Challenge Set:
- For the 2025/2026 season, the UNEARTHED Challenge Set is $95 plus shipping and handling.
- This cost is paid directly to FIRST® from your dashboard.
- Only registered teams can place an order for a Challenge Set.
- Can be shared with other teams.
- Due to limited inventory, teams are limited to one Challenge Set. However, FIRST® occasionally allows teams to purchase an additional Challenge Set if inventory is available. FIRST® will send a team blast to registered Lead Coaches and Team Administrators in case this happens.
Event Registration Fees:
- Arizona Qualifying Tournaments:
  - $125/team payable to ASU.
  - All FLL Challenge teams based in Arizona are invited!
  - Per FIRST® Participation Rules, teams are eligible for awards and advancement at their initial qualifying event.
  - Instructions are emailed by ASU to registered teams starting in October.
  - A team must be registered and fully paid in their national registration system to sign up for official events.
- Arizona State Championship
  - Currently, ASU does not charge a fee for the AZ State Championship. Should ASU need to charge a fee, teams will be notified several weeks ahead of the tournament.
  - By invitation only. Teams must qualify by participating in a local Qualifying Tournament.
- Out-of-State Invitational Tournaments
  - Typically, registration fees are between $1500 and $2500 per FLL Challenge team.
  - Payable directly to the organizers.
  - By invitation only.
  - The team is responsible for all travel expenses.

UNEARTHED challenge field set — 2025/2026 UNEARTHED Challenge Set with Official FLL table

Other costs

Computer, laptop or tablet
Supplies for Innovation Project
Travel
Meeting supplies
Snacks

Dig into the UNEARTHED™ season

Registration for Arizona FLL Challenge qualifiers for the 2025-2026 UNEARTHED season is now Closed!

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. The FIRST® LEGO® League UNEARTHED season will be an experience for the ages.

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.

For more on the UNEARTHED Challenge Season Resources & Season Material

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].