I'm new to this forum, just wanted to say this is an excellent discussion thread about FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and the Mindstorms NXT robot kit. As an FLL coach I would say it can be a very rewarding program for gifted and highly gifted kids.

There is also a very comprehensive forum at the official FLL website:
http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll/default.aspx?id=970

For any of you in Los Angeles (West LA area), I have posted a notice in the "Regions" section about our 2010 Lego robotics meetings getting started soon.

Happy to answer any questions by PM.