FIRST Lego League: Explore

First Lego League Explore logo with a colorful geometric design and a green button labeled "Explore."

FIRST LEGO League Explore is a hands-on STEM program designed for young children, typically ages 6–10. It introduces them to science, technology, engineering, and math through fun, guided projects using LEGO® Education sets.

Each season, teams explore a real-world theme- like space, nature, or transportation. They build a model with LEGO bricks and simple moving parts to showcase their ideas and create a Show Me poster to share what they’ve learned. Along the way, kids develop important skills like teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity, all in a low-pressure, playful environment that builds a strong foundation for future learning in robotics and engineering.

Topics & Content:

🧱 Creative Building & Design Thinking
- Kids bring their ideas to life using LEGO® Spike Essential
- Learn how simple machines, sensors, and motors work together.
- Explore the engineering design process: imagine, build, test, and improve while having fun.

🧠 Early Coding & Logical Thinking
- Begin learning the foundations of coding using LEGO’s drag-and-drop programming blocks.
- Discover real-world science and technology themes through hands-on play.
- Gain confidence understanding how robots follow instructions and sensors detect change.

🤝 Teamwork & Collaboration
- Work together as part of a small, supportive team to share ideas and solve challenges.
- Learn how to listen, cooperate, and contribute to group goals.
- Students proudly share their ideas and models with coaches, parents, and judges.

A young girl building a colorful Lego robot with a tablet nearby showing instructions, sitting at a table.

FIRST Lego League: Challenge

The logo for the First Lego League Challenge, featuring interlocking geometric shapes in red, gray, blue, and black next to the words 'First Lego League' in black text, with a red bar below containing the word 'Challenge' in white letters.

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Challenge is a robotics contest where student teams build and program LEGO robots to complete themed tasks. They use block coding or Python to solve problems and work together. Besides robots, teams research a real-world issue related to the theme and present a creative solution to judges.

This mix of building, coding, and presenting helps students learn STEM skills, teamwork, and communication in a fun and competitive setting.

Topics & Content:

💡 Creative Problem Solving
- Children develop innovative solutions to themed real-world challenges.
- Encourages independent thinking, creative brainstorming, and practical invention
- Builds resilience and adaptability through hands-on trial and error.

🗣️ Teamwork & Communication
- Practice collaboration through assigned roles (builder, coder, researcher, presenter).
- Learn how to share ideas respectfully, solve conflicts, and work towards a common goal.
- Improve public speaking and presentation skills through the Innovation Project showcase.

🏆 Competition Readiness & Growth Mindset
- Experience the full cycle of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge- from brainstorming to competition day.
- Learn the value of gracious professionalism, perseverance, and teamwork under pressure.
- Celebrate progress, not just results!

A young boy presents a project to four children seated around a table with LEGO bricks. The presentation is displayed on a large screen on the wall in a classroom or workshop setting.
Four children and a young woman, all wearing face masks and lanyards, stand indoors holding certificates and a trophy, suggesting an award ceremony.
A group of children working on a robotics project at a table, with one child drawing and others observing. A yellow bin filled with various robotics parts and tools is on the table.
Four children standing against a green wall, wearing white T-shirts with a baseball logo and 'TECHSWING ANIMATOR' written on them. One child is holding a certificate, another holding a medal, and the girl on the right is holding a small box. They are smiling and posing for the photo.
Three children wearing face masks in a classroom or workshop, with two boys and one girl. One boy in a FC Barcelona jersey is gesturing excitedly towards a small robotic device on the table. The other boy and girl are engaged with the robot, with the girl handling some electronic components.

VEX IQ: Robotics Competition

VEX IQ Robotics Competition logo in black, gray, and blue text.
Three boys working on a robotics project with colorful plastic building pieces on a white table.

VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) is a global robotics program for middle and high school students. Teams design, build, and program advanced robots to compete in exciting, real-world engineering challenges. Through competition, students develop problem-solving, leadership, and technical skills preparing them for future careers in STEM and beyond.

At Vertex STEM Edu, we take students of all ages and train them to think like real engineers- equipping them with the design, programming, and teamwork skills needed to excel both in competition and in life.

Three boys working together with a robotics project on a table, with robotics components and VEX logo visible.

Competitive Programming

A black background with the red text 'ASK' in a stylized, outline font.
Two young men standing in front of a white wall with framed photographs, holding a certificate. The young man on the right has short black hair, is smiling, and wearing a navy polo shirt and beige pants. The young man on the left has short dark hair, glasses, and is wearing a light-colored, polka-dotted polo shirt and pink shorts with sailboat patterns.

The American Computer Science League (ACSL) is an international competition that gives students the chance to explore real computer science concepts beyond the classroom.

Through hands-on lessons and friendly contests, students learn about topics like algorithms, logic, and programming while developing problem-solving and critical-thinking skills that will last throughout their education.

Our ACSL program guides students step by step- helping them prepare for each contest with fun challenges, teamwork, and personalized support. It’s a great way for young coders to build confidence, stand out in future academic pursuits, and discover how creative and rewarding computer science can be.

Three boys and an adult man standing indoors, holding certificates with the acronym 'ACSL', in front of a wall decorated with framed photographs.

✔ Programming & Algorithm Design - Build a strong foundation in coding using languages like Python or Java while learning how to design efficient algorithms to solve real-world problems.

✔ Logic, Boolean Algebra & Number Systems - Explore how computers “think” by mastering logical reasoning, truth tables, binary, hexadecimal, and other data representation systems.

✔ Functions, Recursion & Data Structures - Learn to break complex tasks into smaller pieces, use functions effectively, and understand essential structures like arrays, stacks, and trees.

✔ Problem-Solving & Competition Skills - Prepare for ACSL contests with guided practice, mock challenges, and time-based problem-solving to boost accuracy and confidence.

✔ Critical Thinking & Creativity - Strengthen abstract reasoning, creative problem-solving, and computational thinking- skills that go far beyond coding.

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