The Awesome Ninjas are back for another exciting season of FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge! We’re a robotics team from College Station, Texas, and this year’s theme is UNEARTHED™ — an archaeology-inspired adventure where we get to explore history, science, and technology all at once.
Looking Back: Last Year’s Success
Last season was unforgettable for the Awesome Ninjas. We worked hard, learned a ton, and celebrated some incredible achievements:
- 🏆 Champion’s Awards at both our Qualifier and Regional competitions.
- 🌟 Rising All-Star Award at State.
- 🌍 An invitation to the Liberty Science Center Invitational, where we got to share our ideas with teams from all over the nation.
Those experiences gave us confidence and showed us how much we can accomplish when we combine creativity, teamwork, and persistence. But we also left with a long list of things we wished we had more time to do. This year, we’re determined to finish what we started — and go even further.
New Team, Fresh Energy
Every season brings change. We said goodbye to two of our Ninjas who graduated last year, and while we’ll miss them, we’re excited to welcome three brand-new team members. Their fresh ideas and enthusiasm have already given our team new energy. We can feel the excitement building as we get started.
What is UNEARTHED™?
This year’s challenge theme takes us into the fascinating world of archaeology. Just like real archaeologists, we’ll be uncovering artifacts, solving mysteries, and piecing together stories from the past.
In the Robot Game, we’ll design, build, and program a LEGO® robot to complete up to 15 archaeology-inspired missions in just 2.5 minutes. From excavating fragile artifacts to navigating ancient ruins, every mission connects to real-world archaeology challenges.
We’ll also tackle the Innovation Project, where our team will identify a real problem archaeologists face, research it, and create a unique solution. This is where we get to combine imagination, science, and engineering to make a real impact.
And of course, throughout the season we’ll be guided by the FIRST Core Values: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun.
Our Kickoff Experience
Our first meeting of the season was filled with excitement. We started by watching the season reveal video, then dove right into building the new mission models and setting up the Challenge Mat. There’s something magical about seeing the new field for the first time — it’s like opening a treasure chest and imagining all the possibilities.
But kickoff wasn’t just about LEGO bricks. Each Ninja set personal goals for the season. Some want to master coding, others want to become stronger presenters, and a few are excited to dive deep into archaeological research. Collectively, our big goal is simple: accomplish everything we couldn’t do last year, and then some.
This year, we’re stepping up our technical game with Python-based coding instead of block coding, giving us more power and precision. A brand-new robot design is also in the works, and we can’t wait to put it to the test.
Team Spirit: What Makes Us Ninjas
What makes the Awesome Ninjas special isn’t just what we build — it’s how we work together. We believe team spirit is about celebrating every moment, whether our robot crushes a mission or crashes halfway through.
We live by Gracious Professionalism® — respecting and valuing others while doing our best work — and Coopertition®, which means helping others even while competing. Our traditions, like giving “Shoutouts” to teammates at the end of each meeting, remind us that every contribution matters.
For us, team spirit means showing up for each other, having fun, and proving that we’re stronger together.
Looking Ahead
This season, we’re excited to unearth our new potential. With fresh energy, Python coding, and a new robot design, we’re ready for the challenges of the UNEARTHED™ season.
Stay tuned as we share our journey each week. Next time, we’ll reveal how we’re choosing a real-world problem for our Innovation Project and what we’ve discovered so far.
Is there a way to get involved with y’all’s team for the first Lego league?