The Retro Rockets from Rapid River, the Brave Diamond Diggers from James T. Jones Elementary in Gladstone and the Sandy Knoll Coders from Sandy Knoll Elementary School in Marquette all secured advancements to the state competition after outstanding performances at a qualifier at the Northern Michigan University Seaborg Center on Nov. 22. This weekend, the teams and 45 others will show off their skills to judges downstate after beating out hundreds of other Michigan teams.

Activities through FIRST — which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” — use project-based learning to promote student engagement and development in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, soft skills and teamwork. Many people are familiar with the high school level FIRST Robotics Competition, in which teams of teens drive robots around gymnasiums, but the organization also coordinates programs for kids in elementary and middle school.

The elementary levels are through a partnership with LEGO Group. FIRST LEGO League, or FLL, consists of three levels: Discover, which is for preschoolers; Explore, which is for kindergarten through grade three; and Challenge, which is the upper elementary level for kids in fourth and fifth grade (ages nine and ten). There is also FIRST Tech Challenge for middle-schoolers.

FLL Challenge, the program for kids in fourth and fifth grades, is the youngest level at which competitions take place. Up to ten kids belong to each team.

Coach Jake Jenkins assists the fourth and fifth grade Retro Rockets robotics team at Rapid River School. (Courtesy photo)

Each year, a different theme is presented to participants. The theme for the 2025 to 2026 season is “Unearthed,” and it teaches children about archaeology while challenging them to think about real-world applications and current problems in the field.

There are multiple aspects of competition that make up portions of teams’ total scores. In addition to competing against other teams to have tiny robots perform tasks on a table, FLL Challenge teams also have to develop and present an “innovation project” — a solution to an issue that faces real archaeologists.

The team from Rapid River considered a number of possible routes for their innovation project before deciding to focus on zebra and quagga mussels damaging Great Lakes shipwrecks, according to coach Carla Meyer. In order to understand the present challenges, the children heard from experts.

“They worked with Fish and Wildlife Biologist John Baumann to learn about zebra mussels and quagga mussels and the damage that they’re doing to the Great Lakes,” Meyer explained. “And they also worked with Kevin Cullen. He is a maritime archeologist out of Wisconsin. They worked with him (to learn) what they’re currently doing to fight that problem and to just try to come up with a unique solution to it.”

At Rapid River Schools, there is just one FLL Challenge team with the maximum number of ten players. Meyer said she would love to have another team, because there are more children who want to participate, but that more adult volunteers are needed to coach and mentor.

The Brave Diamond Diggers, a robotics team from Gladstone, are downstate this weekend for a state championship competition. Posing here are Abel Belanger, coach Sara Sholten, Trinity Day, Oscar Skellenger, Josie Schafer, Cole Young, Clark Dahlke, Rowan Seder, Hadley Lacrosse and Mya Nastoff. Also on the team but not shown is Keith Rogan. (Courtesy photo)

In Gladstone, James T. Jones Elementary School has six teams — three of fourth-graders coached by Ryan Barron and three of fifth-graders coached by Sara Sholten.

The group at Sandy Knoll Elementary School, part of Marquette Area Public Schools, began as a LEGO club before the FLL team formed a couple years ago, Principal Sandy Brock said.

During the qualifying games at NMU in November, 22 area FLL Challenge teams competed, with the top three teams invited to proceed to the state championship. Other such qualifiers took place elsewhere in the state. The Retro Rockets from Rapid River, team 43816, took first place at the NMU games. A Gladstone team took second place — the Brave Diamond Diggers, team 62607. The Sandy Knoll Coders, team 68874 from Marquette, finished third. A couple other Gladstone teams were honored in different ways — the Brave Archeologists brought home a first-place trophy in Robot Design, and the Brave Stars earned second place in Robot Performance.

Regardless of how many points they rack up, robotics kids and all involved tend to have a good time during the course of the season, which encourages teamwork and mingling with others.

“I continue to appreciate this competition for so many reasons,” Sholten said. “First of all, the atmosphere is so positive. Students cheer each other on, and there is constant support among teams throughout the day. Second, students show tremendous pride in both their robot performance and their innovation project presentation. Watching them present their ideas to a panel of judges and answer questions not only about their innovation prototype, but also about the process that brought them to this point, is incredibly inspiring and impressive. All teams that participated in the qualifying tournament have so much to be proud of.”

The FIRST LEGO League Challenge team from Rapid River works with mentor and STEM teacher Matt Spreitzer on their ROV at the Terrace Bay Hotel pool. The team excelled in early season competition and is now at the state tournament. (Courtesy photo)

The kids from Rapid River, Gladstone and Marquette are traveling down to Mason, about a 5 1/2-hour drive from Gladstone, in vehicles with parents, not by bus. All three teams collected donations from their communities and local sponsors to help with the costs of at least entry fees and lodging.

This is the first time Marquette Area Schools has sent an elementary team to the state championships, which makes it an exciting accomplishment, said Brock, crediting coach Amy Pruner, parent Pauline Holman and other volunteers for their assistance in helping the Sandy Knoll Coders be successful.

“The parents are very, very supportive, and that’s wonderful. It makes it very easy,” Brock said.

The competition in Mason takes place both today and Sunday, but the teams from Rapid River, Marquette and Gladstone will all participate today.

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The Brave Explorers and Brave Diamond Diggers of Gladstone get ready for a robot game match at the Seaborg Center in Marquette last month. (Courtesy photo)

R. R. Branstrom can be reached at 906-786-2021, ext. 140, or rbranstrom@dailypress.net.