The RoboCupJunior division of RoboCup is now entering its third year of international participation and is growing rapidly in size and popularity. This paper first outlines the history of the Junior league, since it was demonstrated in Paris at RoboCup 1998, and describes how it has evolved into the international sensation it is today. While the popularity of the event is self-evident, we are working to identify and quantify the educational benefits of the initiative. The remainder of the paper focuses on describing our efforts to encapsulate these qualities, highlighting results from a pilot study conducted at RoboCupJunior 2000 and presenting new data from a subsequent study of RoboCupJunior 2001.