“What Is FIRST?”

FIRST is an acronym which stands for, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. This represents the goals of FIRST, to spread STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to youth. For more information take a look at FIRST’s Website or check out FIRST Robotics Canada.

FRC

 FIRST Robotics Competition combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of 15 students or more are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, build and program robots to perform predetermined tasks against a field of competitors. It’s as close to “real-world engineering” as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. To find out more click Here.

FTC

It’s way more than building robots. FIRST Tech Challenge teams (up to 15 team members, grades 7-12) are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Teams design and build robots, raise funds, design, and market their team brand, and do community outreach to earn specific awards. To find out more click Here.

FLL

FIRST Lego League is for students in grades 5-8. It introduces them to engineering and the STEAM fields, as well as provides a good stepping stone to FRC. Each year there is a series of predetermined robot challenges and teams program a Lego robot to complete the challenges autonomously. There is also a research project which corresponds to the theme of the robot challenges where students work as a team to find solutions for real-life problems. For more info click Here.

Jr FLL

FIRST Lego League is for students aged 6-9. Students get an opportunity to learn about STEM from an early age. they get to explore real-life science-based concepts and present them with a “show me” board. They also create a motorized model of what they’ve learned and build it out of LEGO. To learn more click Here.