Do you like building things? Playing with computers? Think robots are cool? Then FIRST is for you! With this simple guide, you can get started in no time!
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Why start a FIRST Team?By starting a FIRST Team, you’ll get to…
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Before you start…Make sure you know what you’re signing up for. To start a team, you need to make sure you have enough people and money. If that seems like a lot, there might also be teams in your area, which you can join.
Talk to your parent/legal guardian about it, and show them the “Dear Mom and Dad” section below. |
FIRST offers four robotics programs. You are allowed to participate in each program based on your school year.
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FIRST Lego League Junior (FLLJr)
This is for kids in grades K-4. Teams of up to 6 members will explore and research a real world scientific problem like recycling, food safety, etc. Teams will create a poster showing their journey of discovery, and will create a motorized model using LEGO elements. ⎋ https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/flljr FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)
This is for kids in grades 7-12. Teams of up to 15 members will be challenged to create and program a robot to compete in a floor game against other teams. The Legoheads are part of this program. ⎋ https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc |
FIRST Lego League (FLL)
This is for kids in grades 4-8. Teams of up to 10 members will be given a real world engineering challenge and will have to research and develop a solution, and compete using LEGO based robots they create and program. Before starting FTC, the Legoheads were part of this program. ⎋ https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
This is for kids in grades 9-12. Teams will be given a 6 week limit to raise funds, create a team brand, along with building and programing an industrial size robot to compete in a difficult field game. ⎋ https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc |
Our tips to get you started.
Once you’ve set up a team and budget, it’s important to brainstorm your design process and make a business plan. What are you trying to accomplish first? What can I spend on a certain category and still have enough money for another? Make a spreadsheet and write everything down. Then check off each item one by one. The first season is always the toughest, but you’ll get the hang of it!
We’ve also made videos offering advice on specific topics, which you can check out on our ⎋ videos page.
We’ve also made videos offering advice on specific topics, which you can check out on our ⎋ videos page.
Dear Mom & Dad,
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Here is why you should sign your kid up for FIRST Robotics. FIRST provides kids with challenges that they are forced to research and solve as a team, allowing their creativity to run wild. While there is a lot of time that needs to be put into your work, it ends up being extremely fun and rewarding once it all comes together. It is not required that you start your own team, there are plenty other places where your kid can join a team like Einstein’s Workshop located in Burlington, MA, Lincoln Labs in Lexington, MA, and other places in your area.
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Average cost per team (with equipment)
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Lexington Legoheads | Team 11251 | (c) 2020
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