About FIRST

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Founded in 1989, (FIRST), "For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology", is a non-profit organization that motivates young individuals to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. FIRST aims to inspire bright young minds to take leadership roles in the science and technology community. They foster innovation and creativity, and promote engineering education. FIRST recognizes the importance of getting young people involved in the science and technology fields and encourages the development of not only technological skill, but of life skills as well. FIRST strives to motivate its participants to become more self-confident and to have better leadership skills. FIRST encourages its members to become well-rounded individuals and to better the communities they live in.

"FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn important life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect - of the program nor of themselves. They leave with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own future.

- Dean Kamen, FIRST Founder

Gracious Professionalism

core values
Gracious Professionalism is defined by FIRST as a mutual respect for other teams in all aspects of the FIRST robotics community. This means respecting the integrity of other teams, as well as the spirit of competition. Dr. Woodie Flowers states, "Gracious Professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect kindness in the process. They avoid treating anyone like losers." The idea of Co-opertition goes hand in hand with these ideals, and means "displaying unqualified kindness and respect in the face of fierce competition." It means cooperating with other teams in a match, as well as assisting others both on and off the field. These are values FIRST encourages its participants to display in their lives outside of FIRST and beyond.
We express the FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition through our Core Values:
  • Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
  • Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
  • Impact:  We apply what we learn to improve our world.
  • Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
  • Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
  • Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!

FIRST Programs

FIRST® LEGO® League introduces students ages 4 -16 to STEM 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. The three divisions of FIRST® LEGO® League inspire youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics.
Children ages 4-6 (grades PreK-1) use LEGO® DUPLO® bricks in this playful introductory STEM program igniting their natural curiosity and building their habits of learning with hands-on activities in the classroom and at home.
Teams of students ages 6-10 (grades 2-4) explore real-world problems focusing on the fundamentals of engineering, learning to design, code, and create unique solutions made with LEGO bricks and powered by LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0.
As teams of students ages 9-16 (grades 4-8) engage in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering, friendly competition is at the heart of Challenge. Students build and program a LEGO robot that navigated the missions of a robot game.
FIRST® Tech Challenge is designed for those aged 12-18 who want to compete head to head, using a sports model. With up to ten students on a team, they are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots in an alliance format against other teams. Robots are built from a reusable platform and programmed in a variety of languages. 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.
FIRST® Robotics Competition is "the varsity sport for the Mind" which combines the excitement of sports with the rigors of science and technology for high school students ages 14-18. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, build, and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team, making it as close to "real-world engineering" as a student can get. 
*Information and logos were acquired from the FIRST Website. For more information on FIRST Robotics programs, visit www.firstinspires.org Hi Dallas