Welcome to the Lego Lakers web site! We are a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team of from Spring Lake, Michigan and our coach is David Alan Wolters. He isn't a scientist but he helps us the best that he can. :-)

Each year we work from September to December to complete two challenges:

1: Design, build and program a robot constructed with the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kit which works autonomously to solve predetermined challenges on the robot challenge table

2: Complete an Inventioneering Challenge in which we invent a device which solves a problem related to the challenge theme of the year. We conduct research into the problem, create a solution, and share our findings with our community.

The 2009 theme for FIRST LEGO League is Smart Move- Transforming Transportation. We will join teams from around the world accessing people, places, goods and services in the safest, most efficient way possible. In this journey, teams will consider many modes of transportation beyond their daily routine and streamline their options by making smart moves!

FIRST’s (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) mission is to design accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology and engineering.

FLL gives a team member a glimpse of what life is like in a technology career. A team member gets to see a product develop from a specification to a design approach, to prototyping, to development, to integration, to test, and finally to product. Each stage provides its own unique problems and challenges to the team.

Notable among these problems is that problem solving takes time and that not all solutions work. FLL team members soon realize that much of what they do does not meet expectations, but that persevering will eventually give them a working solution. Working as a team will accelerate this process only if they are willing to listen to each other’s ideas.