What is FIRST?

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-profit organization focused on preparing young people for the future through robotics. Expressed by the founder, Dean Kamen, its goal is to develop ways to inspire students in engineering and technology fields.

There are different programs based on age level where students join teams to create robots as well as learning life skills like problem solving, creativity, and teamwork. The different programs are detailed below. To explore FIRST further, look at their official website.

FIRST LEGO League Discover (PreK - Grade 1)

FIRST LEGO League Discover is for children aged 4 to 6 and is designed as a playful introduction to STEM. Teams use LEGO Duplo bricks to complete each year’s challenge.

Find out more from the official FIRST website.

FIRST LEGO League Explore (Grades 2 - 4)

FIRST LEGO League Explore is for students ages 5 to 8 and focuses on the fundamentals of engineering through exploring real-world problems. Teams create solutions with LEGO bricks and power them with LEGO Mindstorms robots. Events are also held to meet other teams and share what they have learned over the course of the season.

Find out more from the official FIRST website.

FIRST LEGO League Challange (Grades 4 - 8)

FIRST LEGO League Challenge (FLL) is for students aged 9 to 14. Teams build robots out of LEGO Mindstorms sets to complete challenges in each year’s game. They also complete a research project by identifying and coming up with a solution to a real-world problem based on each year’s challenge. They participate in competitions against other teams where they can not only win awards for their robot’s performance, but also their research project which they present to a panel of judges.

Find out more from the official FIRST website.

FIRST Tech Challange (Grades 7 - 12)

FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is for students aged 12 to 18. Teams design, build, program, and operate robots to complete challenges from each year’s game. They participate in competitions in an alliance format where they need to work with other teams to earn the most points each match. Not only do teams receive awards for their robot at these competitions, but also for their community outreach, which they present to the judges.

Find out more from the official FIRST website.

FIRST Robotics Competition (Grades 9 - 12)

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is for students aged 15-18. Teams design, build, program, and operate robots under a narrower time limit than FTC. Like FTC, they participate in competitions in an alliance format; working with other teams to earn the most points possible. At competitions, teams can earn awards for their robots and community outreach.

Find out more from the official FIRST website.

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