Inspired Youth, Inspire You: The FIRST Student Point Of View
May 17, 2022
Welcome to the UNEARTHED™ season! Is your team getting ready to break ground on their Innovation Project?
This year’s innovation project asks FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge teams to identify a problem faced by archaeologists and propose a solution that can help. Be sure to check out the Engineering Notebook for guiding questions to lead you through the Engineering Design Process.
Keep reading to uncover some guidance to frequently asked questions.
Q: What are some resources to help my team with their innovation project?
A: We recommend starting with the Engineering Notebook for helpful guidance on what teams should be researching. We encourage teams to review the Project Sparks in the Engineering Notebook for more inspiration on what questions to ask. The Multimedia Resources and Rubrics are also helpful resources for teams to start their research and prepare for their judging session.
Q: My team loves dinosaurs! Does this relate to archaeology?
A: There are some similarities between the two specialties, and oftentimes they work together. However, there are also some notable differences. We recommend digging deeper into research with your team on this topic to make sure your problem is one faced by archaeologists. Here is a helpful article from the National Parks Service to help get you started!
Q: I am unsure if my innovation project aligns with the season theme. What should I do?
A: The annual theme is broad to allow for a wide variety of innovation project topics. It is up to teams to explain to judges how their topic is related to the theme. It’s a good idea to revisit the project prompt along the way to make sure your solution solves the problem you selected. When scoring the innovation project rubric page, judges will need to hear about how the problem was selected, the team's research and discovery, and their creativity and iteration in their proposed solution. Judges will be excited to hear about each team’s unique approach and are not looking to disqualify teams based on their ideas. Make sure to review the Judging Session Flowchart to see how much time is allotted for teams to share all parts of their explanation during the judging session.
Don’t forget to dig into the Game & Season page for all the UNEARTHED season resources! Be on the lookout for upcoming team blasts announcing Challenge Updates, as this may answer additional questions throughout the season. Check out the Team Blast Archive for any blasts you may have missed.
What problems do you want to dig into this season? Let us know by using #UNEARTHED on social media and don’t forget to tag us!