DC Metro FIRST

Another successful FIRST season has just been completed. Thousands of area students were involved from k - 12. There are still 1000s more we have not reached. Thru our various outreach events we are getting the word out to teachers, parents, students and organizations as to how they can get involved. We need 100s of coaches/mentors for teams as well as other volunteers at local FIRST events.  You do not need to be an engineer to make a difference.

The DC FIRST staff and local teams have attended many STEM events at the local DC Metro and National levels. These outreach events are designed to recruit students, teams, coaches /mentors and sponsors. During this reporting period, FIRST exhibited at the Share Fair/STEMosphere at George Washington University, Navy League STEM Fair and Sea-Air-Space Exposition 2015 and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. One of the largest outreach event was at the Major League Soccer DC United’s Youth night. We had nearly 20 teams there exhibiting their robots, projects and talking to parents and kids. We have a robot driving activity where the students can earn a robot “driver’s license” which draws kids to the exhibit/booth to learn more about STEM, FIRST and robotics. Parents learn more about how their kids, schools and other organization can get involved.

This was the peak season for FIRST Lego League (FLL), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) end of season tournaments. MD FLL, MD/DC and VA FTC Championships were held.  Additionally, National Capital FRC Regionals were held in Richmond (VCU), Fairfax (GMU) and Maryland (UMD).  These events are the culmination of the hard work of students and mentors/coaches for the 2014 – 2015 season.. Teams showcase their robots but more importantly what they have learned as part of FIRST.  Several local area teams qualified for the FIRST World Championship in St Louis, MO held in April. This was a great opportunity for teams to meet and compete with teams from around the world.

The planning has started for the 2015 – 2016.  One of the most important planning activities is recruiting coaches/mentors to work with local teams. Coaches/Mentors If you are interested in coaching and mentoring please contact us. We provide training and support to those wanting to coach/mentor. We are looking to raise awareness about FIRST and how you can help make FIRST an inclusive program that works in support of STEM.

DC Metro FIRST will be hosting several training sessions for the various program as the 2015 – 2016 seasons begin to gear up. We will hold FLL and Jr.FLL training workshops at Pentagon City Microsoft store. These events attract 100s attendees. Large FTC and FRC training workshops will be held in the fall.  These training sessions are used to help teams and coaches/mentors to get the info they need to be successful teams. This training is critical to developing the hard and soft skills of coaches/mentors as well as students. Part of the funds raised will be to help defer the cost of workshops.

The activities for this reporting period can be divided into several distinct areas of DC Metro FIRST activities.  The DC FIRST staff and local teams have attended many STEM events at the local DC Metro and National levels. These outreach events are designed to recruit students, teams, coaches /mentors and sponsors.

We host First Tech Challenge and FIRST Lego League tournaments thru out the DC Metro area.  There were dozens of FRIST Lego League (FLL), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and Jr.FLL events held metro wide during the period Nov – Mar. The local FIRST FLL and FTC programs have wound down for the season. Several local team will be going the FIRST World Championship in St Louis, MO in April.

The FRC Teams world-wide were presented the 2015 game at the Jan 3 Kick-off.  The local FIRST Robotic Competitions (FRC) teams with the help of their team mentors with support from FIRST Staff settled into work on their robots which had to be designed and built exclusively during the “build season” from Jan 3 – Feb 17.  Prior to the build season a major FRC training events was held on Dec 13 and 270 students and mentors attended. The teams now are gearing up for the local FRC Events. There are upcoming FIRST Robotic Competitions (FRC) Regionals at Virginia Commonwealth University (Mar 19 – 21), George Mason University (Mar 26 – 28) and the University of Maryland (Apr 2 – 4).  FIRST tournaments are what gets and keeps most students engaged with FIRST and robotics as they decide on whether careers in STEM are them.  Also, these regional events offer opportunities to showcase all four of the FIRST programs. We host many hands on activities, showcases/expos at the regionals.  The regionals offer opportunities for FIRST alums, sponsors and the general public to volunteer and help as we try to maximize the number of students and teams supported.

FIRST was the featured STEM outreach program at several DC area STEM events. These included the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), Office of Naval Research (ONR) Naval Future Force Science and Technology Expo, American Society of Naval Engineers, US Dept of Energy’s STEM Fair, Smithsonian Museums’ Innovation Festival at Air & Space and a showing of “SlingShot” about Dean Kamen, FIRST Founder, and innovative water purification system.  DC Metro FIRST also supports local community base STEM events such as the Nysmith and Chantilly schools.  Typically, we have a robot driving activity where the students can earn a robot “driver’s license” which draws kids to the exhibit/booth to learn more about STEM, FIRST and robotics. Parents learn more about how their kids, schools and other organization can get involved.

Upcoming outreach events include the Navy Leagues SeaAirSpace Conference and the STEMosphere at George Washington University.  We also are starting the planning process for the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s seven summer “Beat the Streets” community based events.

DC FIRST is a Microsoft Community Partner and holds exhibitions of and training for FIRST programs over the course of the year at the Pentagon City Mall store. These training sessions are used to help new or struggling teams to get the info they need to be successful teams. This training is critical to developing the hard and soft skills of coaches/mentors as well as students.

Donated funds will be used in part to purchase and repair our demonstration robots, purchase field game elements for our hands-on activities, support training of local teams, and other support materials.  We plan on using some of the funds to help defray the expenses of the training sessions. Currently teams pay a nominal fee. Once critical levels are obtained we hope to financially support underserved teams. We have major FIRST Robotics Competitions for the Greater DC Regional at the George Mason University Mar 26 – 28, 2015 and Chesapeake Regional at the University of Maryland on Apr 2 – 4, 2014. They are free to the public.