FTC

FIRST, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in four exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded capacities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. The sequence of FIRST programs in the United States begins with the FIRST LEGO League Explore program serving elementary school-aged youth (ages 6-9), followed by the FIRST LEGO League Challenge (FLL) program serving primarily middle school-aged youth (ages 9-14), the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) serving grades 7-12, and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), serving high school-aged youth (grades 9-12). In the 2018 FIRST Longitudinal Study, FIRST reported that over 679,000 young people participated in its programs on more than 59,000 teams, competing in more than 2,900 tournaments worldwide. For more information on FIRST, visit www.firstinspires.org.