In fall 2021, Code Red began an effort to begin our own FIRST Lego League (FLL) Explore program. In Spring 2023, Code Red contacted the principals of Byron Center Elementary Schools about a great opportunity to impact their young students in a new way. After meeting with the assistant superintendent and principals to establish the details, we posted an announcement requesting parent volunteers to lead FLL in its mission of bringing the joy of robotics to the next generation. We then met with parent volunteers to show them how FIRST and FLL work. Our goal was to have 18 students sign up and form three teams (one per elementary school). Recruitment efforts were then underway in the form of parent newsletters and at promoting FLL at community events. To our pleasant surprise, 45 students signed up, forming six new FLL Explore teams for grade 2-4 students in Byron Center in Fall 2023. Students met weekly during the fall, and we celebrated their accomplishments at the end of the year with a festival where the students presented their displays, received awards, we demonstrated NRG, FTC, and FRC robots, and we told families about future robotics opportunities. We look forward to running our second season of FLL Explore in the fall of 2024.
