A long-time participant in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), the organization behind high school robotics competitions, Athenian now offers engineering opportunities to middle school students through FIRST’s Lego League (FLL). Middle schoolers have been meeting after school this semester to accomplish “missions” that challenge them to problem-solve, work collaboratively, and test their creative muscle.
Dan Yu, a parent of a current 6th grader, created this film documenting the students’ experience over the past few months.
FIRST describes the progression of the robotics programs:
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In FIRST LEGO League(FLL), children are immersed in real-world science and technology challenges. Teams design their own solution to a current scientific question or problem and build autonomous LEGO robots that perform a series of missions. Through their participation, children develop valuable life skills and discover exciting career possibilities while learning that they can make a positive contribution to society.
Children ages 9 to 16 (9-14 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico) get to:
Read more about FLL or contact fllteams@usfirst.org |
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FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is designed for high-schoolers who want to compete head to head using a sports model. Teams of up to 10 students are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete on a 12 X 12’ field in an Alliance format against other teams. Robots are built using a TETRIX®platform that is reusable from year-to-year using a variety of languages. Teams, including Coaches, Mentors, and Volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as well as community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments.
High-school students get to:
Read more about FTC or contact ftcteams@usfirst.org |
The Athenian School Blog 