LEGO Spike Prime for Middle School
Spike Prime is the current LEGO Education middle-school kit and the official FIRST LEGO League Challenge platform. Mindstorms EV3 is retired. Here is the buying guide.
If you are equipping a middle-school robotics program (or a competitive FIRST LEGO League Challenge team) with LEGO, you want Spike Prime. Mindstorms EV3 is end-of-life. There is no successor product to Mindstorms; LEGO has consolidated their robotics story into the Spike family.
This page covers the Spike Prime single set, the Expansion Set, the Class Pack, and honestly addresses the Mindstorms EV3 question (it is retired, do not buy new). If you are running FIRST LEGO League Challenge, this is your platform - see our FLL bundle page for the season-specific side of the purchase.
Short version
Core purchase: Spike Prime Set (45678), ~$430, supports 2 students per set.
Add-on: Spike Prime Expansion Set (45680), ~$120, adds a large motor, color sensor, and more Technic.
Class scale: Spike Prime Class Pack, ~$6,800, 15 sets for 30 students.
Do not buy: LEGO Mindstorms EV3 new. It is end-of-life from both consumer and education catalogs.
FLL Challenge teams: Spike Prime is the official platform. See our FLL bundle page.
Mindstorms EV3 is retired. Do not start new programs on it.
LEGO officially discontinued the Mindstorms brand at the end of 2022. The Education edition EV3 retired from the US shop earlier, in June 2021. There is no successor Mindstorms set - Spike Prime is the replacement.
If you own working EV3 sets, they are not bricked. The firmware and classic EV3 programming environment still run. Many longtime FLL coaches are still coaching with EV3 bots and will be for a while. But LEGO confirmed the product line will not continue, and FIRST LEGO League Challenge has fully transitioned to Spike Prime as the official platform. Software support is winding down: the MINDSTORMS Education EV3 retirement FAQ confirms the platform is supported but not actively developed.
Do not start a brand-new middle-school robotics program on EV3 in 2026. Spend the money on Spike Prime. The kids get a current platform, your teacher gets a supported app, and your FLL competitiveness does not lag.
LEGO Spike Prime Set (45678)
The Spike Prime Set (part 45678) is the flagship middle-school LEGO Education kit. 528 pieces, rechargeable Spike Prime Hub with six programmable ports, three motors (two medium, one large), a color sensor, a distance sensor, a force sensor, and a set of Technic parts optimized for robot-building rather than model-building.
Programming happens in the free Spike App (iPad, Android, Chromebook, Windows, Mac). Kids start in word-blocks similar to Scratch, then progress to Python when they outgrow blocks. The Python integration is real - it is MicroPython running on the hub, with a usable code editor in the same app. That path from blocks to text is the single biggest advantage Spike Prime has over Mindstorms EV3.
Timing note: LEGO Education has listed this product as retiring on June 30, 2026. Whether this means a refresh is coming or a SKU renumbering is not publicly announced. Verify current availability with LEGO Education or an authorized reseller before a large purchase.
Spike Prime Expansion Set (45680)
The Expansion Set (45680) adds 603 more Technic parts plus a second large motor and a color sensor. No second hub - it is a parts top-up for an existing Spike Prime kit. For FLL Challenge teams, the Expansion Set is close to required: the season game kits tend to assume the extra motor and the wider parts vocabulary.
For a non-competition classroom, the Expansion Set is nice-to-have. Start with the core kit. Add the Expansion Set when a team is doing FLL Challenge, or when kids are bumping up against the parts count on ambitious builds.
Spike Prime Class Pack (5007439)
The Class Pack is the official bundle: 15 Spike Prime sets (enough for 30 students in pairs) plus 30 Personal Learning kits for independent work. Also listed with a retirement date of June 30, 2026 - verify before large orders.
Per-seat math works out around $225 per student. If you are standing up a middle-school STEM lab from scratch, the Class Pack is the right line item. If you are adding Spike Prime to an existing program or supporting one FLL team, buy individual sets.
Spike Prime Combo Pack (5008796)
For a K-8 school that wants both elementary and middle-school coverage in one purchase order, LEGO Education sells a combo pack that bundles Spike Essential and Spike Prime class materials together. The kits themselves are the same; the combo exists because districts prefer a single PO over two.
What to pair with Spike Prime
The kit does not run on its own.
Tablets or Chromebooks
The Spike App needs a device, one per pair. iPad, Android tablet, Chromebook, Windows laptop, or Mac - all supported. A Chromebook cart is the most common setup in middle schools. Bluetooth (to the hub) is the pain point: schools that have locked down Bluetooth at the MDM level need to whitelist the Spike App first.
FLL Competition mat and game kit
If you are running FIRST LEGO League Challenge, you need the season's official robot game kit - field elements, mission models, and the official mat. Registered teams order these via their regional FLL Partner. See our FLL bundle guide for the ordering process.
Storage + labeling
Spike Prime has smaller parts than Spike Essential and more of them. Stackable parts organizers per-set, with a photo of the contents glued inside the lid, save enormous time when a motor goes missing mid-build. Akro-Mils stackables or LEGO Education's own tray inserts both work.
Replacement parts budget
Plan $30-60 per set per year for lost parts, broken axles, and mysteriously bent pins. BrickLink for individual parts, LEGO Education official replacement packs for speed.
Python onboarding for teachers
The Python side of Spike Prime is a genuine strength, but a block-only teacher cannot mentor a Python-curious 8th grader. Budget one summer PD day for the teacher to walk through the Python lessons on the LEGO Education Lessons portal before the school year starts. Free resource, high payoff.
Charging station
Spike Prime hubs use USB-C. A labeled 6-port or 10-port USB-C charger in the storage area prevents the Friday "why is none of my stuff working" scramble. Plan for this on day one, not after the first dead hub.
What to skip
The most common and most expensive mistakes.
Buying Mindstorms EV3 new in 2026
Covered above at length. LEGO discontinued the line. Software support is frozen. FLL has moved to Spike Prime. Do not start new programs on EV3. If you already own working EV3 kits, it is fine to keep using them - but do not add to the pile.
Agree to Disagree ›Third-party LEGO-compatible motors and sensors
You will see Aliexpress and Amazon listings for "LEGO-compatible" motors and servos at a fraction of LEGO Education's prices. They do not talk to the Spike App. They use different connectors (or the right connectors with wrong pinouts). Voltages vary. Even the ones that physically mount to Technic beams need custom firmware to control. Real LEGO Education motors cost more because they actually work in the supported software.
Agree to Disagree ›"Robotics starter kits" that mix brands
Bundles that combine a LEGO-compatible building set with an Arduino microcontroller, some servos, and a generic sensor pack sound educational but teach none of the platforms well. Kids spend half the time figuring out which wire goes where instead of solving problems. Pick a platform (Spike Prime, VEX IQ, or micro:bit + chassis kit) and commit.
Agree to Disagree ›One Spike Prime for the whole middle-school team
A single Spike Prime set supports 2 students, maybe 3 in a pinch. A 20-student class needs 10 sets. For an FLL team of 8-10 kids, you want 2-3 sets plus the Expansion Set so kids can prototype in parallel instead of queuing.
Agree to Disagree ›FLL Challenge uses Spike Prime
If your middle-school robotics is competition-bound, Spike Prime is the required platform. See our FLL bundle page for the season-specific side.