What is FIRST® ?

FIRST® : For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

FIRST®  is a program that inspires young people to explore STEAM. Through FIRST® , students learn about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, and critical thinking skills. Besides engineering and technology, FIRST programs also encourage public speaking, finance, and problem-solving.

Dean Kamen founded FIRST®  in 1992 with the help of Woodie Flowers. In the beginning, FIRST®  had a simple objective, but it has evolved into a very complex and strategic game. Besides our program, FIRST®  Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST®  has 3 other divisions: FIRST® LEGO®  League, Jr. (FLL Jr.), FIRST®  LEGO®  League (FLL), and FIRST®  Tech Challenge (FTC). Each of these programs helps children and young adults explore engineering, critical thinking, and teamwork. FLL Jr. is for grades K through 4, FLL 4-8, FTC 7-12, and FRC 9-12.

Each of these competitions gets a new, unique game each year, and then has the objective of building a robot that is able to complete tasks to score points. In FRC, we are given our new game at the start of January and begin competitions in March. To learn about this year's game, you can go here. FRC has other optional objectives each season as well, such as writing essays, giving presentations, and creating videos to enter for awards.

FIRST®  encourages the spread of STEAM to younger generations to inspire them to pursue a path in one of the related fields. It strives to include minorities, such as women and lower-income households, who might not otherwise be exposed to opportunities such as this. We are proud to be a FIRST®  team and share these values and goals.