Growth and Impact

Growth and Impact

The Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) was introduced as a pilot experience for young children during the 2004-2005 FIRST LEGO League season. Now an official FIRST program, Jr.FLL has made tremendous progress:

 

2004 No Limits - Pilot Phase 1

  • 9 Jr.FLL Expos
  • 125 Teams
  • Over 375 Kids

2005 Ocean Odyssey - Pilot Phase 2

  • 27 Jr.FLL Expos
  • 327 Teams
  • Over 981 Kids

2006 Nano Quest - Pilot Phase 3

  • 30 Jr.FLL Expos
  • Over 700 Teams
  • Over 2,400 Kids

2007 Power Puzzle - Declared Official FIRST Program!

  • Over 40 Expos
  • 1,004 Teams
  • Over 6,000 Kids

2008 Climate Connections

  • 44 Events
  • 1,240 Teams
  • Over 7,000 Kids

2009 Smart Move

  • 60+ Expos
  • 1,446 Teams
  • Over 8,500 Kids

2010 Body Forward 

  • 80+ Expos
  • 1,800 Teams (projected)
    • as of March 2011, 2,039 teams registered
  • Over 10,800 Kids (projected)

 Evaluations

In the 2004-2005 pilot season, the Center for Youth and Communities at Brandeis University conducted an evaluation to understand to what extent the Jr.FLL model provided effective means of involving younger, elementary-school-aged children in an initial FLL experience. Brandeis collected and analyzed the results of 85 surveys returned by Jr.FLL Coaches participating in the Jr.FLL Expos.  Below is a sampling of the findings.

  • Kids particularly enjoyed the building tasks, such as building a wind-up car and building the model
    • 98% "liked a lot"
  • Coaches overwhelmingly thought that working on Jr.FLL expanded team members’ knowledge of the topic that year (No Limits)
    • 95% of coaches indicated this
    • Two-thirds of coaches said they greatly expanded their own knowledge
  • 85% of coaches considered Jr.FLL to be both educational and fun at the same time
  • 98.4% of coaches recommended Jr.FLL be available in upcoming years

You can find the full results of the evaluation on the FIRST Impact page under FIRST LEGO League.

"Incredibly inspiring!"- Rich Kressly, FIRST Senior Mentor, PA

"Cameras were getting hot from all the pictures! Thank you for allowing us to do this."- Walter Hickok, FLL Operational Partner, MI