1. (501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization) Igniting young minds.Teaching life skills.Nurturing passions for science and technology.Practicing “Gracious Professionalism™.” For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
2. It’s a competitive sport. It’s a life experience. It’s opportunity. It’s community. It’s amazing.
3. FIRSTlearning… … never stops building upon itself, starting at age six andcontinuing through middle and high-school levels up to age eighteen. Young people can join at any level. Participants master skills and concepts to aid in learning science and technology through robotics.
25. Who is it for? For students (ages 6-18):the hardest fun you’ll ever have. For mentors, coaches, volunteers: the most rewarding adventure you’ll ever undertake. For sponsors: the most enlightened investment you could ever make.
58. FLL impact Student Perspective In the 2004 evaluation of FLL, Brandeis University also found:Increased knowledge of: Use of school subjects in solving real-world problems 93% Importance of science and technology in everyday life 95% Use of science and technology in real-world problem-solving 97% Science and technology careers 90% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Source: FLL Program Study by Center for Youth and Communities, Brandeis University, May 2004
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60. 93% rated their experience ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ (31% good, 63% excellent)
61. 82% plan to participate again (11% will be too old; 5% report no time)Source: FLL Program Study by Center for Youth and Communities, Brandeis University, May 2004
80. Help host a tournament for your community“FLL enables us to be a player in the community. The kids enjoy it and our employees get a kick out of it as volunteers. The feeling is that we’re all in this together.” Tom Pirelli, Chairman, ArialPhone Corporation
95. e.g. Judge or Reviewer/Referee“There’s something about changing a young person’s life and giving them direction that keeps me going.” General Motors FIRST Volunteer
99. Be inspired and energized through your participation“I love working with these kids! I’m amazed and inspired by what they can accomplish, and their enthusiasm and energy is contagious.” Kristen Kelso, FLL Coach and Judge, former FIRST Robotics Competition participant
105. Bring FLL or Jr.FLL into the classroom“I have been teaching for 31 years and this is one of the best programs I have ever seen!” David Mills, Technology Education Teacher
AcronymFocuses on inspiring youth, teaching life skills, nurturing an interest for science and technologyTeaching and practicing gracious professionalism
In addition, FIRST is about these things all in the context of learning and play
There are 4 level of FIRST that focus on different ages groups and levels of complexity.FIRST combined with Lego creates FIRST Lego League
FLL is the 2nd of 4 level of FIRSTChildren ages 9 to 14 will be involve in activities that will offer a lot of opportunities
Here’s some information about the founder – Dean Kamen – inventor of the segway His missionSome statistics on participation
FLL is the 2nd of 4 levels – mainly for ages 9-14FIRST partners with the Lego Group to form FIRST Lego League or FLL
FLL programs are happening all over the world – FIRST together with Legos produces a fun way to learn about science and technology
It’s done in the context of a challenge
Here’s a list of some of the activities students can expect to become involved in.
Each year FIRST researches real world problems and poses them to children to solve. – the last challenge dealt with biomedical engineering for healing the body.
Here is a list of some of the challenges presented over the years and the growth in the number of teams that participatedMy involvement started in 2002 – parental support2003 through 2007 – held classes – went to compeition
No surprize the largest number of teams comes out of the silicone valleyMy goal with robotics was to see more teams come out of our area