Friendly competition is at the heart of the FLL Challenge, as teams of students ages 9-14 engage in research, problem-solving, coding and engineering to build and program a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game. As part of the challenge, teams also participate in a research project to identify and solve a relevant real-world problem.

This is the second year for the FIRST LEGO League State Championship to be held at the University of Indianapolis. Due to COVID restrictions in 2021, the event was in the R.B. Annis School of Engineering and not open to spectators. This year, friends, family, and others were able to attend the event in Nicoson Hall, home of the UIndy Greyhounds.

Dr. Ken Reid, dean of the school of engineering, said, “We were thrilled to work with FIRST Indiana Robotics for the FLL State championship and happy also to host FLL Explorer and teams competing in First Tech Challenge. The teams were so enthusiastic, and that enthusiasm was contagious! The core values of FIRST are very similar to the elements of our DesignSpine process, so we hope to inspire these students to look toward a future career in engineering or in a different STEM field.”

The Champion’s Award-winning team, FLL 16059 “Sunny Delight” from Twin Branch Elementary School in Mishawaka, will advance to the World Festival in Houston, Texas, in April 2023. They will compete and celebrate their success with over 100 teams from all over the world.