Excellent information on Starting a FIRST LEGO League Team can be found on the FIRST LEGO League Start a Team web page!

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

• 2025 LA FIRST LEGO League Hardship Grants for FLL Challenge and Explore Hardship grant requests – DUE JUNE 30th! https://lafll.tulane.edu/2019/06/12/2019-louisiana-first-lego-league-team-hardship-grant-registration/​
• 2025 Dept. of Defense Grants– DoD has announced this year that to be eligible for DoD STEM funding, teams must have active and ongoing support from a DoD-affiliated coordinator AND mentor. If you meet those requirements, YOU MUST APPLY BEFORE JUNE 13 to request funding for this year –  see https://first.dodstem.us/access.​
• BPX grants for teams in Caddo, Bossier, and DeSoto parishes will be announced when confirmed, which should be by the end of June.​
• John Deere typically announces grant opportunities in mid-June for FLL teams in the greater Thibodaux area (traditionally considered within 40 miles of Thibodaux). ​
• Business/Industry grants in your specific area may be available and are worth asking for!​
• QSM Grant for Robot Kits: https://www.lsu.edu/caincenter/programs/qsm-grants/index.php​. Need to apply for classroom use, but equipment may also be used for teams.
• The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation (SupportSTEM and Service Learning): https://www.thebrownfoundation.org/education.html​
• Shell Science Lab Challenge: https://www.nsta.org/shell-science-lab-challenge​

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Archaeological Institute of America FIRST LEGO League Challenge 2025-2026 site, where they are hosting an August 19^th (noon CT) webinar entitled, “Ask an Archaeologist: Unearthing Challenges in Archaeology”, along with other great resources and links. A recording of the webinar will be posted on that site, for those who cannot participate live.

Junior Archeologist Ranger Activity Book with great activities for ages 6-12.

FIRST LEGO League Challenge Share and Learn FACEBOOK page – a great community resource run by experts in the field providing Q&A and links to other resources.

Team Meeting Guides are provided by FIRST to facilitate your seasons. Current guides can be found on the 2025/2026 UNEARTHED^TM Season Materials page.

Building and Programming Your Robot: There are tutorials built into the LEGO software that are very helpful. In addition, you can check out SpikePrimeLessons or EV3Lessons by the FIRST Team Not the Droids, which provides a complete set of programming lessons for teams, teachers, and robotics enthusiasts. The tutorials are clear, to-the-point, and comprehensive, with something for every level of user. And we concur – it’s a great resource! 

We also highly recommend FLL Tutorials, also provided by FIRST Team Not the Droids, which provides best practices for getting the most out of your FIRST LEGO League season.

YouTube is a valuable resource for accessing what other teams are sharing.  Look for videos on past challenges or even on current solutions to missions once they are released at the end of August. 

If you have further questions, contact us!