As home school parents, we are always looking for ways to make math and science fun and to enrich our curriculums. When we realized there wasn't a huge presence of FIRST LEGO League teams for home schoolers in our area, one local mom gathered interest and seven teams were formed. Out of the seven, our team, TREX #71323, was the only Challenge level team (ages 8-12) to come together. At this level, teams participate in local qualifiers, and if they place, they move on to the State Tournament.

TREX #71323 won the Best Innovative Project award at the local qualifier and earned a bid to the Alabama State Tournament, where they placed 2nd out of 24 teams. Winning one of the five Champion’s Finalist awards, TREX accepted an invitation to Georgia’s Ramblin Robot Invitational in June 2026. This is a huge honor for our first-year team and a testament to the kids’ hard work and creativity.

Being a first-year team, we didn’t have any funds to purchase robot parts, accessories, or items needed for our innovation project. We were able to obtain a couple of grants to cover those expenses, but now the costs to travel from Huntsville, AL to Atlanta, GA for 3-4 days are much more. Registration fees are ten times the cost of the State tournament, and hotel fees in Atlanta will require the most. We will need six rooms for the seven kids and two coaches for four days. Most grants from companies and organizations are strict with 'not to be used for travel expenses' rules. These grants will cover registration fees, competition t-shirts, and tradeable buttons/pins, but not hotels, food, or gas. We are only looking for help with the travel expenses.

Friends, family and Lego lovers everywhere! We’re raising funds to help our home school LEGO robotics team cover travel expenses for an upcoming competition in Georgia. Our elementary and middle school students have worked incredibly hard to earn this opportunity, and your support will help with transportation, lodging, and event costs. Every donation, big or small, helps our team continue learning, growing, and representing our community. Thank you for supporting these young innovators!