Across Ireland, FIRST® LEGO® League is giving thousands of young people the chance to learn coding, engineering and research through a high-energy, real-world challenge. Delivered in Ireland by Creative Hut, the programme has already engaged more than 40,000 young people, pairing hands-on robotics with life skills like teamwork, communication and confidence, while supporting teachers and youth leaders to embed STEM learning long after competition day.
The Background: A global programme with local impact
FIRST LEGO League is a global STEM programme delivered in partnership between FIRST, a global non-profit founded to inspire young people to engage with science, engineering and technology, and LEGO Education, which develops hands-on learning solutions that use LEGO bricks and digital tools to bring STEM concepts to life. The programme is structured around three divisions as learners grow: Discover (early years and infants), Explore (primary) and Challenge (upper primary and secondary). Each season is built around a new real-world theme, with teams learning through robotics, coding and research, before celebrating their progress through showcases and tournaments.
In Ireland, the programme has grown significantly since it launched in 2016. It is now open to schools and youth organisations in all 26 counties, and teams compete in regional tournaments that lead to an All-Ireland Final. Universities host many of these tournaments, including Dublin City University (DCU), Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), University College Dublin (UCD) and University College Cork (UCC), giving teams the chance to compete on campus. The programme is backed by a strong network of partners: national sponsor Amazon, tournament sponsor Meta, regional sponsor Medtronic, and funding from Research Ireland. Together, they help to ensure access, scale and long-term sustainability.
The Challenge: Removing barriers to access and increasing teacher confidence
While Ireland’s curriculum places increasing emphasis on digital skills and STEM, many schools and youth organisations still face significant barriers when it comes to delivery. Robotics kits require upfront investment, travel to specialist STEM centres can be prohibitively expensive, and teacher confidence in areas such as coding, engineering and computational thinking varies widely.
For many educators, the challenge was not enthusiasm, but capacity. Without the time, training or resources to build confidence, even the most engaging programmes risked being underused or inaccessible. Transport costs added further friction, particularly for schools outside urban areas, making traditional hub-based STEM experiences unrealistic.
With a clear determination to ensure no child is left behind, Creative Hut and its partners were determined to ensure that FIRST LEGO League did not become an opportunity reserved solely for a small number of well-resourced schools. Instead the intention was to create a structured, creative pathway, which is open to young people of all abilities, backgrounds and settings.
The challenge was to create a national programme that could be delivered directly within schools and youth organisations, removing the need for travel. Alongside this, it was crucial to help educators teach coding with confidence, ensuring consistent, high-quality STEM learning for every learner.
FIRST LEGO League is one of the most powerful ways we’ve found to combine real technical learning with the life skills young people need to thrive. When you see teams present with confidence, collaborate under pressure and apply what they’ve learned to real-world themes, you realise this isn’t just a competition. It’s a pathway that helps every learner see a place for themselves in STEM.
— Ross MaguireCreative Hut
The Solution: Teacher upskilling, curriculum alignment and a national delivery model
Creative Hut’s role has been to make FIRST LEGO League something educators can confidently deliver themselves. That starts with the practical foundations: supplying and supporting the use of LEGO Education SPIKE kits and bespoke competition mats that bring coding, robotics and engineering into the classroom. These kits allow pupils to build and programme autonomous robots, while giving teachers a clear, structured way to introduce complex STEM concepts through play.
But equipment alone isn’t enough. A major focus of the programme has been building confidence among teachers and youth leaders, many of whom had not taught coding before. Creative Hut delivered hands-on training sessions alongside the kits, showing educators how to use LEGO Education SPIKE kits - modular robotics sets that combine LEGO building, sensors, motors and block-based coding - as well as explaining how the competition works and how activities can be adapted for different ages and abilities. This was supported by a dedicated e-learning hub designed by Creative Hut, giving educators on-demand access to training, guidance and resources, and reducing reliance on one-off workshops.
To ensure the programme could be embedded long-term, Creative Hut also worked closely with Dublin City University and the Technological University of the Shannon to map FIRST LEGO League with the Irish primary and post-primary curriculum. Together, they developed practical guidance, linking seasonal themes and robotics activities to curriculum outcomes, helping teachers justify classroom time and build STEM learning into everyday practice.
The result is a model that brings high-quality STEM learning directly into schools and youth organisations, reduces the need for travel, and equips educators with both the tools and confidence to keep delivering year after year.
The Impact: High participation, deep learning and confidence that lasts
What began as a small pilot with just a handful of teams has grown into a truly national programme, with FIRST LEGO League now reaching schools and youth organisations in every corner of Ireland. Year on year, participation has increased as confidence, awareness and teacher capability have grown, turning what was once a niche opportunity into a recognised pathway for STEM learning.
That growth is reflected in the depth of engagement as well as the scale. In the current year alone, learners across Discover, Explore and Challenge have already logged over 150,000 hours of hands-on STEM learning, with young people also developing vital soft skills such as presenting to judges, communicating complex ideas and working as a team under pressure.
The programme’s impact is also reflected in how it is experienced by young people. Evaluation data shows that 9 in 10 children enjoyed taking part in FIRST LEGO League, with 8 in 10 saying they would choose to participate again - a strong indicator of both engagement and sustained interest.
This has been reinforced with feedback from parents too, with over 90% agreeing that the programme has positively impacted their children’s interest and confidence in STEM, as well as their computational thinking skills.
Looking Ahead: Expanding access and strengthening the pathway
Following the Department of Education’s STEM learning grant introduced in December 2023, Creative Hut was able to work with around 60 additional schools, demonstrating what’s possible when kit access, training and funding move together.
Looking ahead, the focus remains on widening participation across, building more educator confidence through blended training, and strengthening partnerships that help schools and youth organisations invest in kits and professional development.
Creative Hut’s long-term ambition is to ensure that any child in Ireland who wants to participate in FIRST LEGO League can do so, regardless of their location, school type or background.