At A Glance
FIRST® is the world’s leading youth-serving nonprofit advancing STEM education.
Reaching over 3.2 million youth participants around the world since 1989, FIRST combines the rigor of STEM learning with the fun and excitement of traditional sports and the inspiration that comes from community through programs that have a proven impact on learning, interest, and skill-building inside and outside of the classroom.
FIRST By The Numbers
FIRST Programs
- FIRST offers a suite of PreK-12 robotics programs: FIRST LEGO League (ages 4-16, varies by country and division), FIRST Tech Challenge (ages 12-18), and FIRST Robotics Competition (ages 14-18).
- FIRST programs served 668,000+ youth participants globally during the 2022-2023 season.
- For reach by program and past season data, view the current and archived FIRST Annual Impact Reports.
- FIRST teams showcased their skills at approximately 3,700 official FIRST events during the 2022-2023 season.
FIRST Volunteers, Sponsors & Supporters
- FIRST volunteers and educators served 28 million+ hours through more than 316,000 roles during the 2022-2023 season.
- FIRST sponsors include more than 25 FIRST Strategic Partners and more than 200 of the Fortune 500 companies.
- FIRST Scholarship Providers make available thousands of exclusive scholarship opportunities for FIRST participants each season.
FIRST Alumni Impact
- 81% of FIRST alumni declare a STEM major by their fourth year in college (compared to 64% of the comparison group).**
- 48% of female FIRST alumni declare a major in engineering or computer science by their fourth year of college (versus 16% of their peers in the comparison group).**
- For more FIRST impact data, check out our FIRST impact studies.
**Source: FIRST Longitudinal Study: Findings at 108-Month Follow-Up, Brandeis University, February 2023
Page updated November 2023
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Start a FIRST LEGO League Team
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See your students grow and shine through FIRST® LEGO® League. Starting with Discover, children ages 4-6 are introduced to the fundamentals of STEM while working together to solve fun challenges and building models using LEGO® bricks.
As participants progress into Explore (ages 6-10), children will take their background knowledge of STEM and put it into practice as they work in teams to design and build robots using LEGO Education SPIKETM Essential.
FIRST Senior Mentor Program
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FIRST® Senior Mentors (FSMs) recruit and support teams, mentors, coaches, and volunteers while expanding and deepening both the awareness and exposure of the progression of FIRST programs. From the ground-up to the larger community, FIRST Senior Mentors recruit, support, and expand, piece by piece.
Mentors and Coaches
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- Teach others what you know
- Be inspired by the students
- Give back to your community
- Build your own skills and resume
Event Volunteers
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- Empower students to be good global citizens who understand that they can use their collective skills to make a positive impact in one person’s life, in their community, and even the world.
- Join a community of like-minded individuals that support FIRST programs.
- Receive general FIRST training and training for your volunteer role.
- Have access to certificates of volunteerism and other recognition items.
No matter your availability and the level you want to be involved in, there is a role for you, from safety attendees to judges, and emcees to referees. Some roles require minimal time commitment with succinct day-of preparation. Other roles require pre-event training and longer participation on event days. Technical and non-technical event volunteer roles are available to support FIRST programs.
Cost & Registration
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FIRST LEGO League’s three divisions inspire youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning centered around a yearly theme.
2024-2025 SUBMERGEDSM Season
Costs for starting a FIRST LEGO League team vary depending on the division and level of participation. There are never any “per student” fees; all costs for individual team members are assumed by the team as a group.
Team Basics
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The really cool thing about FIRST LEGO League is…all skill levels are welcomed and needed, technical or non-technical.
Please note FIRST does not match children to existing teams due our privacy policy. We encourage those looking for a team to contact their local schools, libraries, or youth organizations who may have a team in place or interest in starting one.