Houston, we have a problem...
Donation protected
Houston, we have a problem (but it's a nice one to have!!!)...
Our team is fundraising to get to the FIRST World Championships in Houston (Texas), where we will represent Australia proudly - among teams from 70 countries around the world - in a massive Robotics competition. We would really appreciate your help!!!
The backstory...
We are 8 Kiama kids, ages 6 to 12, who make up a FIRST LEGO League Robotics team called Ctrl+Alt+Del. Our team name reminds us that when our robot fails we can always reboot our plans and start again. Every failure is really just a new discovery of 1 way that it doesn't work! We've found lots... :)
FIRST® LEGO® League is an awesome Robotics competition where teams of up to 10 students build, program and compete with a robot, while also learning about a modern problem in science and engineering and developing solutions for it. The entire competition for each year is based around a real-world problem that teams are challenged to investigate. This year the challenge was called 'Into Orbit' and teams around the world had to research problems facing astronauts during space travel or long stays in space.
Our team had to build and program a LEGO® robot to complete a series of space-themed challenges. The robot had to run on our code and complete as many missions in a Robot Game as possible in only 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Sounds easy, huh?! :)
Whilst working on a robot design and code, we also had to develop a research project and we learned to think critically, work as a team, and speak publicly. We are especially proud of the part of our research that saw us sending an experiment into space (for real!) to run live on the International Space Station!!! It doesn't get much cooler!
We enjoy sharing our love of Robotics and Coding with other kids and we help run Roboclubs after school and sometimes go to visit a special needs school where we get to be ‘Bot Buddies’ with kids who have disabilities. It's a really special feeling to give back to others who don't get to have the same amazing experience that we have been so lucky to have in the FIRST LEGO League program.
Meanwhile back at the ranch...
We need your help because we were selected at the Australian National Championship as 1 of 13 teams to go on to represent Australia at various international Robotics events! We are extremely honoured to be selected to go to the FIRST World Championship - the biggest Robotics competition and STEM celebration in the world, with over 70,000 people participating! *mindblown*
We started off the season this year as 1 of 840 FIRST LEGO League teams in Australia and we made it from our Regional tournament, to the NSW State tournament, and then on to the Australian National Championship where we competed against 70 teams for the honour of going on to represent Australia. Not bad for 8 young kids from a small sea-side town, right?!

We are so proud to get to represent our country in April 2019 on the world stage, and we hope that our journey could inspire other young kids that anything they dream of is possible to achieve. What we've learned as a team this year, while researching space and building robots, is that we should never let anyone tell us that the sky is the limit, because we know there are footprints on the moon (and we sent an experiment into space!).
How you can help...
We need help from our community to get to Houston. We are working very hard to fundraise, including mowing lawns for pensioners over the Xmas school holidays and running holiday RoboClubs and 3D Printing Workshops for other kids; and we would gratefully accept any support you can offer.
Our aim is to raise $20,000 (which is more money than any of us can imagine!). You can donate to help us, share this campaign, or spread the word about our lawn mowing and clubs!
All of the funds donated will help us pay for our airfares to Houston (our team members only, our parents have are paying for themselves). If we raise enough money to help us cover our accommodation also, that will be great; and after that we will donate any funds left to the Robotics program that our team members have supported at Peterborough School (a school for children with disabilities), so that they can be inspired as much as we have. We hope maybe they will start a FLL team in 2019!
If you believe in the power of kids to change the world, please help us to show all kids that each of us has the potential to imagine and create amazing things that will make a real difference. We appreciate your support! Every little bit helps (for our plane tickets and donut funds :P )
Banjo, Taz, Til, Kel, Harry, Nic, Kai and Olly... your reps at the FIRST World Championship! *Aussie, Aussie, Aussie... Oi, Oi, Oi!*

Our team is fundraising to get to the FIRST World Championships in Houston (Texas), where we will represent Australia proudly - among teams from 70 countries around the world - in a massive Robotics competition. We would really appreciate your help!!!
The backstory...
We are 8 Kiama kids, ages 6 to 12, who make up a FIRST LEGO League Robotics team called Ctrl+Alt+Del. Our team name reminds us that when our robot fails we can always reboot our plans and start again. Every failure is really just a new discovery of 1 way that it doesn't work! We've found lots... :)
FIRST® LEGO® League is an awesome Robotics competition where teams of up to 10 students build, program and compete with a robot, while also learning about a modern problem in science and engineering and developing solutions for it. The entire competition for each year is based around a real-world problem that teams are challenged to investigate. This year the challenge was called 'Into Orbit' and teams around the world had to research problems facing astronauts during space travel or long stays in space.
Our team had to build and program a LEGO® robot to complete a series of space-themed challenges. The robot had to run on our code and complete as many missions in a Robot Game as possible in only 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Sounds easy, huh?! :)
Whilst working on a robot design and code, we also had to develop a research project and we learned to think critically, work as a team, and speak publicly. We are especially proud of the part of our research that saw us sending an experiment into space (for real!) to run live on the International Space Station!!! It doesn't get much cooler!
We enjoy sharing our love of Robotics and Coding with other kids and we help run Roboclubs after school and sometimes go to visit a special needs school where we get to be ‘Bot Buddies’ with kids who have disabilities. It's a really special feeling to give back to others who don't get to have the same amazing experience that we have been so lucky to have in the FIRST LEGO League program.
Meanwhile back at the ranch...
We need your help because we were selected at the Australian National Championship as 1 of 13 teams to go on to represent Australia at various international Robotics events! We are extremely honoured to be selected to go to the FIRST World Championship - the biggest Robotics competition and STEM celebration in the world, with over 70,000 people participating! *mindblown*
We started off the season this year as 1 of 840 FIRST LEGO League teams in Australia and we made it from our Regional tournament, to the NSW State tournament, and then on to the Australian National Championship where we competed against 70 teams for the honour of going on to represent Australia. Not bad for 8 young kids from a small sea-side town, right?!
We are so proud to get to represent our country in April 2019 on the world stage, and we hope that our journey could inspire other young kids that anything they dream of is possible to achieve. What we've learned as a team this year, while researching space and building robots, is that we should never let anyone tell us that the sky is the limit, because we know there are footprints on the moon (and we sent an experiment into space!).
How you can help...
We need help from our community to get to Houston. We are working very hard to fundraise, including mowing lawns for pensioners over the Xmas school holidays and running holiday RoboClubs and 3D Printing Workshops for other kids; and we would gratefully accept any support you can offer.
Our aim is to raise $20,000 (which is more money than any of us can imagine!). You can donate to help us, share this campaign, or spread the word about our lawn mowing and clubs!
All of the funds donated will help us pay for our airfares to Houston (our team members only, our parents have are paying for themselves). If we raise enough money to help us cover our accommodation also, that will be great; and after that we will donate any funds left to the Robotics program that our team members have supported at Peterborough School (a school for children with disabilities), so that they can be inspired as much as we have. We hope maybe they will start a FLL team in 2019!
If you believe in the power of kids to change the world, please help us to show all kids that each of us has the potential to imagine and create amazing things that will make a real difference. We appreciate your support! Every little bit helps (for our plane tickets and donut funds :P )
Banjo, Taz, Til, Kel, Harry, Nic, Kai and Olly... your reps at the FIRST World Championship! *Aussie, Aussie, Aussie... Oi, Oi, Oi!*
Organizer
Lauren Purcell
Organizer
Kiama Downs NSW
