Robotics Teams

FIRST® LEGO® League, FIRST® Tech Challenge, and VEX IQ competition teams at UP Robotics in Bethesda, MD — serving families across the DMV (DC, Maryland & Virginia).

An UP Robotics competition team posing together at a tournament

UP Robotics is a proud supporter of the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC), fostering a vibrant, team-based STEM community for kids in grades K through 12. Our teams design, build, and program robots together — and learn collaboration, strategy, and grit along the way.

Our FLL and FTC teams are about more than showing up each season. Want the specifics on how a particular team has actually done — placements, judges’ awards, how far they advanced? Ask us and we’ll walk you through it.

This season's challenges

Each of our competition programs follows a fresh season theme and game. Here's what our teams are building toward right now.

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge
BIOGLOW™

Launching August 4, 2026, our FLL teams will dive into BIOGLOW™ — the final season of FIRST® LEGO® League, and part of the overarching FIRST® CANOPY™ season theme. Teams will experience the vibrancy of the world's ecosystems, exploring biodiversity and the science of life on Earth through hands-on robot design, research projects, and innovation challenges.
Explore our FLL Challenge teams →
FIRST® Tech Challenge
BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX

Launching September 12, 2026, our FTC teams compete in BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX — a challenge that invites students to amplify the excitement and energy found within the natural world. Part of the FIRST® CANOPY™ season, BIOBUZZ has teams designing and programming robots to manipulate Pollen (3-inch plastic balls) in two-on-two alliance matches, alongside community outreach and engineering innovation.
Explore our FTC teams →
VEX IQ Robotics Competition
Level Up

Launching August 2026, our VEX IQ teams will compete in Level Up — the current season of the VEX IQ Robotics Competition. Students in grades 5–8 form teams of 2–5 to tackle hands-on engineering challenges through robot design and programming, strategic match play, and collaborative teamwork skills development.
Explore our VEX IQ teams →

Joining a team

Returning team members get priority enrollment each season.
We welcome a limited number of new students every fall.
If our teams are full, we'll help you start a new team with our support — or join one of our classes tailored to your child's age and experience to build skills for next season.

The team pathway

Most kids start with FLL Explore, move up to FLL Challenge or VEX IQ (both grades 4–8), and can go on to the FIRST® Tech Challenge — depending on your child’s age and interests.

Step 1 · Start here Grades K–3

FIRST® LEGO® League Explore

A playful, non-competitive start — young builders explore a themed challenge with LEGO® models and a discovery poster while learning teamwork and the FIRST® core values.

Step 2 · Option A Grades 4–8

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge

Teams tackle each season’s themed challenge with creative robot designs and an innovation project, competing at official FLL tournaments.

Explore FLL Challenge teams →

Step 2 · Option B Grades 4–8

VEX IQ Challenge

Teams design, build, and program robots to complete tasks on a themed game field using snap-together parts and block or text-based coding.

Explore VEX IQ teams →

Step 3 · Go further Grades 7–12

FIRST® Tech Challenge

Advanced robotics, Java programming, strategy, and teamwork on a competition-grade metal robot platform.

Explore FTC teams →