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What is FIRST ?

FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by Dean Kamen in 1982. The FIRST vision is "to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders." Today, thousands of FIRST competitions are held all over the world for children of all age groups and backgrounds.

FIRST Website

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FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)

Ages: 14-18

Grades: 9-12

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.

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FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)

Ages: 12-18

Grades: 7-12

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.

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FIRST LEGO League (FLL)

Ages: 4-16

Grades: PreK-8

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.

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