Student LEGO Robot Teams to Compete at Mines

More than 40 youth from eight teams will converge on the South Dakota Mines campus next week to compete in the 2025 FIRST® Lego® League (FLL) West River Qualifier.

Mines, in partnership with the FLL state Program Delivery Organization, Black Hills Special Services Cooperative, will host the event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22, in the university’s Classroom Building. The event is free and open to the public, offering an inspiring look at the next generation of innovators.

FLL is a hands-on STEM program for youth ages 9-14 that blends creativity, problem-solving and real-world challenges. Since August, teams have been hard at work designing, building and programming autonomous robots capable of completing timed missions to score points.

This year’s theme, UNEARTHED, challenges students to investigate archaeology as a gateway to understanding the past and imagining the future. The competition is divided into robot games with judging in core values, project presentation and robot design.

BHSSC is proud to lead FIRST® LEGO® League in South Dakota as the new Program Delivery Organization (PDO), continuing the state’s strong tradition of innovation, teamwork and creativity. With qualifiers in both Rapid City and Sioux Falls, youth have opportunities to showcase their robotic skills and demonstrate their teamwork and problem-solving abilities. 

This year’s West River Qualifier is sponsored by Grossenburg Implement of Belle Fourche and the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium.