Parents are not required to stay for all sessions but are highly encouraged to get involved and work with their child.  Parent involvement always makes our teams better.

There is a $50 registration fee for the program, which helps to cover materials, competition entry fees, and lunch at the competition.  If you have any trouble paying this fee, email foundation@wolcottrobotics.org

Remind is the communication system that we use for our programs.  This allows mentors to send out messages to all parents and enables parents to directly message the mentors.  Instructions on joining Remind are included in the registration form.  Parents are required to be on Remind if they register their child for the program. 

The program after FIRST LEGO League Challenge is FIRST Tech Challenge (7-8 grade) OR FIRST Robotics Competition (9-12 grade).  See the pages on these programs for more information.

Yes, all students enrolling in the FIRST Lego League Challenge are required to be enrolled in the Wolcott Public Schools.  However, FIRST is an international program and anyone can start a team.  If your child doesn't attend the Wolcott Public Schools and you'd like to start a team, please email ymacary@wolcottrobotics.org as we can assist with the process, and may be able to provide funding.

Wolcott Robotics Foundation members will send info about fundraising efforts on Remind, so if you'd like to help support our cause please keep a lookout.

We understand that students may have to miss a session or two, however, we STRONGLY encourage students to make as many sessions as possible.  Students will be working as a team, so absences may affect other members, and the program is cumulative and will be significantly less beneficial if students miss many sessions.  We expect students to be fully committed to the program.

The end-of-the-year competition is hosted at Wolcott High School in November and allows students to compete against teams from around the state for various awards and the chance to advance to the Connecticut FLL State Championship.  Students will have a judging session where they present in front of a panel of judges and will participate in robot matches.

If the team advances to the state championship they will meet into December and participates in a second competition, which is held at Glastonbury High School.

FIRST Tech Challenge introduces students to metal robots and real-world coding.  Students who enjoy coding, engineering, and the more technical aspects of the program are encouraged to join FIRST Tech Challenge.  On the contrary, FIRST LEGO League Challenge is a great program for beginners to get experience using simpler software and materials.  The innovation project is also an aspect of FIRST LEGO League Challenge that FIRST Tech Challenge doesn't have, and as such any students who gravitate towards that type of work rather than mechanical work are recommended to stay in FIRST LEGO League Challenge.

While the innovation challenge doesn't always involve hard STEM skills, it is a great way for students to learn real-world skills that set them up for success.  This part of the program helps students develop critical thinking, presentation skills, research skills, creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving.  Most importantly, the innovation project helps demonstrate to the students how science and technology can be applied to improve everyone's lives.