Research and Innovation:

• Identify a Problem: Students will begin by researching current challenges in archaeology, such as preserving fragile artifacts, improving excavation techniques, preventing looting, or making cultural heritage accessible to future generations.
• Innovative Solution: Teams will brainstorm and develop innovative ideas to address these challenges. Their solutions may involve new technologies for artifact detection, tools for careful excavation, digital methods to document history, or creative ways to connect modern communities with discoveries from the past.

Robot Design and Programming:

• Robot Construction: Teams will design, build, and program LEGO robots to complete missions on the UNEARTHED game field, which simulates an archaeological dig site. Missions may include carefully unearthing artifacts, transporting delicate finds, documenting discoveries, or reconstructing pieces of history.
• Programming Skills: Using platforms such as LEGO SPIKE Prime or EV3, students will program their robots to navigate, perform precise movements, and handle objects with accuracy to complete archaeology-themed tasks.
• Engineering Design Process: Students will apply iterative design—testing, analyzing results, and refining their robots—mirroring the precision and patience required in real archaeology to achieve better mission success.

Core Values and Teamwork:

• Collaboration: Students will work closely in teams, learning the value of cooperation, open communication, and shared problem-solving, just as archaeologists collaborate in the field.
• Gracious Professionalism: Teams will practice FIRST LEGO League’s Core Values of respect, inclusion, and Coopertition®, supporting one another while celebrating progress and creativity across all teams.

Presentation and Sharing:

• Project Presentation: Each team will prepare a presentation to showcase their Innovation Project, explaining the problem they researched, their proposed solution, and their robot’s design and performance. Judges will evaluate their creativity, research depth, and ability to communicate effectively.
• Festival Participation: The season will culminate in regional, national, or international festivals, where students present their projects and compete in the Robot Game, sharing their passion for history, innovation, and teamwork with a broader community.

Course:

FLL Competition Preparation - Robot Design - Robot Game (archaeology-themed missions) - Robot Programming - Innovation Project (research + solution on archaeology challenges) - Core Values