4-H Problem-Solving,
Teamwork and Fun
through LEGO
Mindstorm Robotics
And FIRST LEGO League Teams
Positive Youth Development
=Meeting the Needs of Youth
 Belonging
 Mastery
 Independence
 Generosity
What are these 4 basic
needs of Youth?
Belonging—
Finding that you have things in
common with others and you are
accepted and made to feel part of the
group
 Mastery — Encouraged to try new
experiences and find out what
things you are good at

What are these 4 basic
needs of Youth?
Independence—
Giving youth a choice in what they
will do and a voice in where the group is
headed
 Generosity— When youth belong, feel
that they have skills they have
accomplished and are given choices,
youth will choose to share with others
of their knowledge time and skills

So what is a LEGO
MINDSTORM EV3 Robot?
What can this robot do with your
Programming and Engineering Design?
Robots do 4 Basic Kinds of
tasks
 Dirty
 Dull
 Dangerous
 Delicate
Resource Page
Two Great Starts to understanding
Robot Programming

Robot Programming Fundamentals Video
–

http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/previews/nxt_pro
ducts/nxt_video_trainer/partial_product/basics/thinkin
g/thinking.html
Programming is Precise Just click on Big Idea 1-2
–
http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/content/lego/ev3/
curriculum/preview/
What is 4-H FIRST LEGO
League?
Teams of up to 10 kids and
guided by at least one adult
coach, team members have
about 10 weeks to work on
the Annual Challenge
 Each annual Challenge has
two parts, the Project and
the Robot Game

The 3 Rs of
FIRST LEGO League

Robots– learning to program the robots, build
add-ons to accomplish the tasks set forth in the
challenge on the Challenge Field in the 2.5 minute
opportunity to showcase their robot and
programming

Research- Learning about the challenge and
how our community can make a difference and
presenting it in a creative way

Report– Defend the robot, your programming,
your teamwork and your research project
FIRST LEGO League Core
Values







We are a team
We do the work to find solutions with guidance
from our coaches and mentors
We honor the spirit of friendly competition
What we discover is more important than what we
win
We share our experiences with others
We display gracious professionalism in everything
we do
We have fun
FIRST LEGO League 4-H
Clubs
 Decision-making
 Communication
 Leadership
 And
Citizenship—Connecting
research to community
 Open House Presentations
 County Fair Club Project and
Demonstrations
Regional Competition
 Technical





Interview
Run Missions completed
for 5 minutes
Explain how you
designed your
Apparatuses
Share how your design
Process progressed
Regional Competition
 Teamwork

Interview
Accomplish Task
Share how you worked
as a team
What did you learn
working together?
What role did each
player take?
How did you get along?
Regional Competition
 Project
Research Presentation

•Research a community
connection to the year’s
theme
•Brainstorm a way your
community could impact that
theme
•Plan a project to impact that
theme
•Plan a creative way to share
•Share it with the community
•5 Minutes including Setup
Regional Competition
 Robotics

Challenge
•2 ½ minutes to complete as
many missions as possible
•Only 2 members at the
board at one time…can tag
and change
•Use only one robot
•Must practice changing
apparatuses so that doesn’t
slow you up
•Don’t shy away from
Regional if you only have a
few missions completed
2015 Challenge
Trash Trek Your Project mission this
season is to make less trash
or improve the way people
handle the trash we make. In
the TRASH TREK Project, your team
will:

FLL challenges kids to
think like scientists and
engineers.


Identify a problem with the way we make
or handle trash
Design an innovative solution to the
problem you select
Share your problem and solution with
others
How do teams get Started?
1. Starting to build the LEGO pieces that make up
each of the missisons
–
–
–
You will download the instructions for building the
Mission Model Pieces
Check out the Mission pieces, pictures and video of the
how the constructed LEGO piece fits into the World
Class Challenge on Youtube when the challenge is
released on August 26 …see what your Robot has to do
to accomplish each mission
Lay out the mat and start building the pieces that go on
it
How do we get started?
2. Jump into the Challenge Theme “Trash Trek” for
2015. To begin your TRASH TREK project, As a
Team – Choose a piece of trash. It might be
something gross and stinky, something old and
worn out, or something left over after you finish a
project. It could be an item that is used in
manufacturing, building, or some other business.
It could be any item that is considered “trash” by
the owner. As a Team - Find out where your
piece of trash goes after it leaves the owner….
How do we get started?
 Does someone collect this item from you, or do
you need to take it somewhere?
 Could you follow the path your trash takes (either
in person or through websites, books, and
magazines)?
 What happens to the trash in the end?
 Do you notice any parts of the process that could
be better – more efficient, cleaner, or better in
some other way? Look for these problems as you
research.
How do we get started?
 This would be a great time to invite someone in to
talk to your team…an expert who handles your
item or someone who works with recycling or
reusing items that others throw away.
 You might select a problem in any of these areas
– How trash is collected ● Could there be a new uses for
old items (repurposing) ● Food waste ● Electronics
waste (phones, computers, etc.) ● Hazardous waste
(medical, chemical, etc.) ● How trash impacts your
community ● Landfills ● Making zero-waste products ●
Recycling process ● Sorting the trash
How do we get started?
3. Start learning about building the robot and
programming it
a) Build a robot…there are lots of sites online to help you
design the building of your robot. Just get one built so
you can start programming. Just Google LEGO EV3
Building Instructions
a) Build the standard Driving Base in Manual with kit
b) Begin the EV3 Tutorial in the programming software or
online to learn how to use the software to program the
robot