Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about Lego League at:

http://www.firstlegoleague.org/ (the international organization)

http://www.hightechkids.org/ (Minnesota’s organization that puts on the tournaments)

Q: How many teams has Burroughs had in the past and when did they meet?

A: In 2011 Burroughs had 4 teams. One met on Tuesdays and Thursdays, two meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, for a total of 3 hours a week. The other team met on Saturdays for 3 hours at a time. In 2012 the meeting times will depend on what the parent coaches can schedule.

Q: What are the teams judged on?

A: At the tournament teams are scored on 4 areas:

1)      Research on their project, this year related to “Senior Soulutions”

2)      Technical Building and Programming of the Lego NXT ‘robot’

3)      How well the ‘robot’ completes any (or all) of the 8 to 10 ‘missions’ at the tournament

4)      Teamwork and respect for each other

Q: What’s required to be a coach?

A; We cannot have Lego League without parent volunteers to coach the teams. It is not necessary to have an engineering or programming background to coach. It IS necessary to be able to work with 5 to 7 9 to 10 year olds and try to keep them on task (makes the engineers degree sound easy, doesn’t it?) There are some great resources for coaches on both the First Lego League and High Tech Kids websites, as well as help and support from some of last year’s Burroughs coaches.

Q: Why do we have to sign up so soon?

A: We need to know who is interested before the fall in order to register our teams and have the materials ready for the release of The Challenge on September 2^nd.

Q: Why limit to 4^th and 5^th Graders?

A: First Lego League has an age limit of 9 to 14 years old. There is a Jr. Lego League that is organized in some states, but Minnesota is not one of them (yet).

Q: How Long is the Season?
A: We start in September and have a 'regional' tournament in December. IF a team does well, they get to go to the State Tournament in January.