Digging Into 2025-2026 FIRST Lego League Season UNEARTHED™

Every year, FIRST LEGO League has a new theme. This season's theme is "Unearthed". In this season, kids like us learn to build, code, problem solve, and more! It's basically like history class, but with robots, shovels, and SO much fun!

Understanding the Innovation Project

The Innovation Project happens every year along with the season theme. You dig up a community problem related to the theme, and your team finds a solution to it and implements it by creating something to go along with it. You then bring it to life by inputting your ideas and solutions onto a trifold poster board. The best part about it is that you get the opportunity to be as engaging and funny as you want to be, so don't be afraid to dig deep into your creativity!

Unearthing the Robots

The robot game is crucial to the whole project. It's the only aspect in the event that is 100% unbiased. There is a robot game mission mat with missions that you need to build out of Legos. (It took a while to build them and was a bit challenging.) You have to build a robot with all the attachments and mechanisms to complete all the missions you want to. It isn't needed for you to complete all of them, you can complete however many your team dares to from as little as 2 (although that might not get you many points), to as many as 15 (that might be challenging to do, but there are still ways to get points without doing all the missions). You can complete these missions using a Spike or an EV3 robot. They both have their fair share of pros and cons though, so a little research and some trial-and-error, can really save you from any "digging yourself into a hole" moments.

You also would need to code the robot using simple block code. The coding is pretty much self-explanatory and doesn't take a while to understand and is pretty much straightforward in general. The missions will vary in points, so it's best to prioritize and strategize which missions your team should do. Only a few people from your team would need to work mainly on the robot and 2-4 people at the mat at a time - so teamwork is key!

There aren't many rules to the robot game, but may seem decoding an ancient scroll at first, so take some time to research and fully understand it before you go ahead and start building and coding.

Digging Up the Final Thoughts

This season, there is so much to dig into! From robotics to designing trifolds, every step feels like uncovering hidden treasure! You learn about how important teamwork, strategy, and creativity are, and sometimes, the best solutions come from the ideas you least expect. And remember, whether you are working on the robot, or planning out decorations for the trifold, every team member has a role and each of them is a lego piece snapping together to make a block-busting masterpiece!

Thanks a ton for reading! If you have any questions or want extra resources such as helpful videos, make sure to check our social media accounts and don’t hesitate to dig us up at astrobytes2025@gmail.com