FIRST® LEGO® League South Africa - Explore

The birth

The event was born in 1998 from the alliance between FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and LEGO®. FIRST Robotics South Africa NPO, together with its network of regional partners, organized FIRST® LEGO® League Explore as the only Southern Africa operating partner.

The motorized model

All registered teams will be sent the Explore set, containing a play sheet, some themed missions to build according to the instructions and other exclusive LEGO® pieces to give vent to creativity. Through the use of a LEGO® set for educational robotics (not included in the registration), the teams must motorize the themed missions, the same throughout the world, programming their robot through the 'special graphic language. The model presented must be related to the theme of the season and each team illustrates the different parts of it to the reviewers.

The "Show Me Poster"

In the preparation process for the Explore event, each team must also search for a solution to a problem linked to the theme of the season. The solution is also exposed through the creation of the “Show Me Poster”, a creative poster through which girls and boys are asked to present the research process carried out and the results obtained, putting highlight what they learned along the way.

The Core Values

Everyone who takes part in the FIRST LEGO League is expected to respect and implement the FIRST® Core Values:

• Discovery, new skills and ideas are explored;
• Innovation, creativity and perseverance are brought into play in solving problems;
• Impact, we use what we have learned to improve the world;
• Inclusion, we respect each other and accept differences in views;
• Teamwork, you are stronger if you work together;
• Fun, having fun and celebrating your achievements. These values derive directly from the philosophy of FIRST®, which is to express Gracious Professionalism® (the idea of competing with great passion, but at the same time treating each other with respect and kindness) and *Coopertition® * (the fusion of the words "competition" and "cooperation", to indicate the mutually supportive attitude of the teams that compete).