What is FIRST, FLL, and the World Festival?

What is FIRST?

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen. FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology and engineering.

What is FIRST LEGO League?

The FIRST LEGO League (FLL), considered the "Lego" version of the FIRST Robotics Competition, is the result of a partnership between FIRST and the LEGO Company. FLL extends the FIRST concept of inspiring and celebrating science and technology to children aged 9 through 14, using real-world context and hands-on experimentation. This year, over 40,000 children worldwide participated!

With the help of LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System technology, young participants can build a robot and compete in a friendly, FIRST-style robotics event specially designed for their age group. Using LEGO bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors, and gears, teams gain hands-on experience in engineering and computer programming principles.

Teams compete based on two categories: the research, which requires the team to create a presention on a topic related to that year's challenge, and the robotic aspect which involves building a robot to solve a given set of missions. Teams have 3 months to prepare their robots and research to be presented at local, state, and international tournaments. There are four judging categories: the research presentation, the robotic challenge, robot design, and teamwork. Teams win awards in each of these categories and the team that does the best in all of these categories combined wins the coveted Director's Award!

What is the FLL World Festival?

FIRST is thrilled to announce the FLL World Festival (previously known as the International Invitational) hosted in conjunction with the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in Atlanta, at the Georgia Dome - April 27 through 29, 2006.

Approximately 75 top FLL teams from 20 countries will participate in a 2-1/2 day "Ocean Odyssey" tournament celebration of science and technology. For more information see the Official FIRST Lego League World Festival Site