Monday, January 23, 2017

Expo Registrations Open in Oregon

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon,

In this post you will find:

  1. Lottery to Participate at World Festival
  2. Oregon Expo Information
  3. What You Need to Register for an Oregon Expo
  4. How to Pay for an Oregon Expo
1) Lottery to Participate at World Festival
If your team would like to represent Oregon at the World Festival please complete this online form. The World Festival takes place on April 20-22 in Houston, Texas. Your team is responsible for their own travel and registration costs if selected. FIRST LEGO League Jr is a non-competitive program. Teams who would like to participate at the World Festival are therefore randomly selected.

2) Oregon Expo Information
This year Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program (ORTOP) is planning 7 FIRST LEGO League Jr Expos. Six of these expos now have dates and can be registered for. 
At OMSI we will have:
Saturday, March 18 - Antelope Expo from 9am-1pm & Beaver Expo from 1:30-5:30pm
Sunday, March 19 -  Cougar Expo from 9am-1pm & Duck Expo from 1:30-5:30pm
At Evergreen Aviation Museum we will have:
Saturday, May 6 - Eagle Expo from 9:30am-12:30pm & Falcon Expo from 1-5pm
An expo in the Columbia Gorge will be scheduled for later in May.

Your team's animals of interest DO NOT need to correspond to the expo names. The expo names are simply more fun than calling our expos A, B, C, D, E, & F. Each expo may have 12 - 25 teams and are assigned on a first registered basis ensuring that all events have enough teams to be held. Teams may attend more than one expo if there is space, priority will be given to teams that have not attended any expos. More information about Oregon Expos can be found on this page.

3) What You Need to Register for an Oregon Expo
Before you can start your registration for an Oregon FIRST LEGO League Jr Expo, your team must have the following:
  • 2 adult coaches who have completed their background check
  • 1 National registration with FIRST
  • A 4-digit FIRST LEGO League Jr team number
If you have a bee model and engineering notebooks, then you have all of the above! 
You will also need to know:
  • Your team's chosen team name - this will be used on all expo papers for the day.
  • How many kids are on the team - NO MORE THAN 6
  • How many are boys and how many are girls, and their grade level in school (or by age).
  • Your tournament preference (you can choose three and will be put into the one with the best space).
  • If you have other teams coming from your site you need to be at the same event as - mostly for schools and clubs.
  • Whether your team will be using a laptop that needs power
  • If your team needs special accommodations, like wheelchair access.
  • A plan on how to pay for the expo application fee of $80 (with an optional up to $40 for teams who need it)
When you have all of this, you may go to the survey monkey application page and complete an expo application for your team.

Please only submit ONE application PER TEAM unless you intend to attend more than one expo - If this is your plan please make sure you put it in the additional comments.

4) How to Pay for an Oregon Expo
There are three options for paying for your FIRST LEGO League Jr Oregon Expo Application. 
The $80 Expo Application payment completes your Expo registration process and allows your team to be placed into an Oregon Expo. All payments must be received 2 weeks before the start of the expo you are requesting. When you make your payment there is an automatic method for requesting the discount of up to $40. At this time these requests are automatically approved, this may change next season.

Best Wishes,
Loridee