First Tech Challenge
The FIRST Tech Challenge is a robotics challenge open to students in grades 7-12. Each team can have up to 15 members, and the objective of the challenge is to design, build, program, and operate robots as a team. This challenge is a great opportunity for young students to develop valuable STEM skills with the help of adult coaches and mentors. With robots made from kits that are available from FIRST, teams then go on to compete against other teams in the FIRST Championship.
First Robotics Competition
Similar to the FTC, the FIRST Robotics Competition is another opportunity for students to showcase their STEM skills. With stricter rules and less time and resources, the FRC is a more challenging competition available to highschool students. Students have to design, build, and program industrial-sized robots to complete different tasks within a short amount of time. Along with that, the FRC challenges students to work together as a team to design a team “brand” and raise funds for the specific materials allowed in the competition. This competition provides students with a very close experience to that of real world engineering, with volunteer professional mentors and like minded peers to work and compete with.