FIRST


“TRANSFORM OUR CULTURE BY CREATING A WORLD WHERE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE CELEBRATED AND WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE DREAM OF BECOMING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LEADERS.”

— DEAN KAMEN - FIRST ROBOTICS FOUNDER




FIRST (FOR INSPIRATION AND RECOGNITION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY) WAS FOUNDED IN 1989 TO INSPIRE YOUNG PEOPLE'S INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. BASED IN MANCHESTER, NH, THE 501(C)(3) NOT-FOR-PROFIT PUBLIC CHARITY DESIGNS ACCESSIBLE, INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS THAT MOTIVATE YOUNG PEOPLE TO PURSUE EDUCATION AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH, WHILE BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE, KNOWLEDGE, AND LIFE SKILLS.

FIRST IS MORE THAN ROBOTS. FIRST PARTICIPATION IS PROVEN TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO PURSUE EDUCATION AND CAREERS IN STEM-RELATED FIELDS, INSPIRE THEM TO BECOME LEADERS AND INNOVATORS, AND ENHANCE THEIR 21 ST CENTURY WORK-LIFE SKILLS.



THE FIRST TECH CHALLENGE (FTC) IS DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 7–12 TO COMPETE HEAD TO HEAD, USING A SPORTS MODEL. TEAMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DESIGNING, BUILDING, AND PROGRAMMING THEIR ROBOTS IN A 10-WEEK BUILD PERIOD TO COMPETE IN AN ALLIANCE FORMAT AGAINST OTHER TEAMS. TEAMS, INCLUDING COACHES, MENTORS AND VOLUNTEERS, ARE REQUIRED TO DEVELOP STRATEGY AND BUILD ROBOTS BASED ON SOUND ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES. AWARDS ARE GIVEN FOR THE COMPETITION AS WELL AS FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH, DESIGN, AND OTHER REAL-WORLD ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF FTC IS TO REACH MORE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH A LOWER-COST, MORE ACCESSIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER THE EXCITEMENT AND REWARDS OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS.

First Lego league

GRADES AGES

PreK - 8 4 - 16

FIRST® LEGO® League introduces STEM to children ages 4-16* through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem-solving experiences through a guided, global robotics program, helping today’s students and teachers build a better future together. FIRST LEGO League’s three divisions inspire youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics.


First TEch Challenge

GRADES AGES

7 - 12 12 - 18

FIRST® Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers. Teams design, build, and program robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Robots are built from a reusable platform, powered by android technology, and can be coded using a variety of levels of Java-based programming.

First Robotics COmpetition

GRADES AGES

9 - 12 14 - 18

FIRST® Robotics Competition teams design, program, and build a robot starting with a standard kit of parts and common set of rules to play in a themed head-to-head challenge. Teams also build a brand, develop community partnerships for support, and work to promote STEM in their local community.