FIRST At A Glance

FIRST

Founded 1989
Headquartered in Manchester, NH
501(c)(3) public charity

Leadership

Dean Kamen, Founder
Walt Havenstein, Chairman of the Board
Jon Dudas, President
Board of Directors & Senior Management

Supporters

More than 90,000 volunteers make FIRST happen
FIRST is supported by a network of more than 3,500 corporations, educational and professional institutions, and individuals
 

Programs

FIRST Robotics Competition for Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)
FIRST Tech Challenge for Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)
FIRST LEGO League for Grades 4-8 (ages 9-16; 9-14 in the U.S. and Canada)
Junior FIRST LEGO League for Grades K-3 (ages 6-9)
FIRST Place for ages 6 to adult
 

2010 FIRST Scholarship Program

More than $14 million in college scholarships
746 individual scholarship opportunities
136 scholarship providers
 

Overall Reach - All Programs Combined ( 2010/11 season)

250,000+ students
22,600 teams
20,800 robots
68,000+ mentors/adult supporters
33,000+ event volunteers
 
 

See breakdowns by individual program below.
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2011 FIRST Robotics Competition

2,200 teams
55,000 high-school students (Grades 9-12)
FIRST Robotics Competition Championship at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 27-30, 2011
Robots are built in 6 weeks from a common kit of parts provided by FIRST, and weigh up to 120 lbs. (excluding battery and bumpers)

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2010/11 FIRST Tech Challenge

1,500 teams
15,000 high-school students (Grades 9-12)
FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 27-30, 2011
Robots are built using a modular robotics platform
 

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2010/11 FIRST LEGO League

17,100 teams
171,000 children, ages 9 to 14 (Grades 4-8)
From 50+ countries
More than 450 Qualifying Events and 89 Championship Tournaments
FIRST LEGO League World Festival at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 27-30, 2011
Robots are built using LEGO MINDSTORMS technologies

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2010/11 Junior FIRST LEGO League

1,800 teams
10,800 kids, ages 6 to 9 (Grades K-3)
50+ Jr.FLL Expos
Participants design and construct a model using LEGO bricks and moving parts and present their research journey on a poster

http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=160