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.