What is This?

FIRST Lego League Challenge is designed for students aged 9-16. Teams spend several weeks constructing and programming an autonomous robot, conducting research, and preparing presentations on a chosen topic. The program emphasizes FIRST’s core values and culminates in a regional competition, where teams present their work in categories such as Research, Robot Game, Robot Design, and Core Values.

During this 2024-2025 FIRST season, our teams competed in the DIVE season which included the SUBMERGED challenge for FIRST Lego League. This season, our teams will compete in the AGE season, which, for FLL, includes the UNEARTHED challenge.

Every artifact we uncover holds a story. Each tool, each innovation, each work of art connects us to the people and ideas that came before us. Using STEM skills and teamwork, today we can dig deeper into discoveries than ever before.

Age & Grade Requirements

FIRST Lego League Challenge is open to youth between 4th-8th Grades AND 9-16* years old.

We welcome all abilities, and ask that any special requirements/accomodations are discussed with the coaches prior to joining the team.

We will accept team members on a first come, first served basis and have a maximum of 10 children per team in accordance with FIRST Regulations

Important Dates

• August 5th: Challenge released!
• August 18th-22nd: Training Camp, 10am-12pm.
• September 10th: Team Meets begin!
• December 2025 Qualifier Event, TBA, Grants Pass or Medford, OR
• January 2026: State Championship, Portland, OR
• April 2026: World Championships

Meetings and Practices

This year, we have organized space in Brookings for our friends north of the border! ;) Each location will be its own team. Both teams will meet periodically for scrimmages, presentations, and team bonding activities.

Practices/Meetings are 90 minutes long, once per week per team

• Crescent City Location is Redwoods Wonder Forge, 245 Price Mall, Crescent City, CA, 95531
• Brookings Location is Oregon Coast Dance, 97986 Shopping Center Avenue, Brookings, OR

Kids are expected to attend all practices, and need to inform the coaches if they need to miss any. We will provide extra days well in advance to help families plan appropriately.

Coaches and Mentors

Coach Juan is our Head Coach. He is a software engineer by trade and has coached an FLL-Challenge Team in North Carolina in the past.

Coach Ciri is an Army veteran, veterinary technician, and homeschooling parent for over a decade.  She is well versed in organizing,  training, and building a values-led team.

We also have two former FLL-C members that will be mentoring the kids as they progress through the season.

All FIRST coaches, mentors, and volunteers must complete an annual background check, and youth protection and safety course prior to activating their FIRST Memberships. Both FIRST and Redwoods Wonder Forge take youth safety and wellness very seriously.

Uniforms and Equipment

No special uniforms or equipment are needed for practice. Comfortable shoes and clothes are recommended, because we will be moving around.

The membership fee also covers the cost of competition team shirts, which the team will design and wear to all qualifiers and competitions.

Costs

It costs approximately $4700.00 to run a team through a FIRST Lego League Season. This includes Registering the teams with both FIRST and with ORTOP (Our Competetion League), purchase of the robot, challenge mat, laptop or tablet for programming and research, materials, supplies, and utilities. Coaches and mentors serve on a volunteer basis. Redwoods Wonder Forge does not have paid staff.

For the August 2025- December 2025 Competition Season, the cost per team member is $400. This works out to about $20 per session.

• Options for payment include paying in full, or paying $100/month for the first 4 months.
• We are working on scholarships, please reach out if this option would enable your child to join a team.
• We are vendors for various organizations including Uncharted Shores and Castle Rock. Review the registration form for a full list of vendors.
• Volunteering is encouraged, volunteers earn a $100 discount for 10 hours of volunteer time. Please reach out if you would like to volunteer!

Registration For the 2025-2026 AGE: Unearthed Season

Registration is open! Please use the following form to register with our teams:

Wonder. Create. Discover.

More than anything else, our aim is to have a fun, safe, and amazing rookie season. We want our inaugural FLL-Challenge team members to have a wonderful time, learning, innovating, and playing with Lego robots!