business backgrounder | education & workforce
Decorated with yellow caution tape, a team called “Safety Hazards” competes at the FIRST LEGO League First Tech Western Washington State
Championships at the ShoWare Center in January 2015.
Birmingham’s experience isn’t unique, says Erin
McCallum, president of Washington FIRST Robotics, the
local arm of an international organization founded 25 years
ago by inventor Dean Kamen. “Kids get involved to hang
out with their friends and play with LEGOS. They may
think that they’re bad at math or they don’t like science. A
few weeks later they realize they’ve learned to code.”
“I can say with complete confidence that my
experience with FIRST was just as valuable to me as
my experience in a college engineering program.”
something for everyone
FIRST program offerings begin at age 6, with Junior FIRST LEGO
League for kindergarten through third grade, FIRST LEGO League
for grades four through eight, FIRST Tech challenge for grades
seven through 12, and FIRST Robotics Competition for high
schoolers in grades nine through 12. Like the one Birmingham
joined, many FIRST clubs are school-based, operated as an
extracurricular club. With today’s schools trying to do more with
less, school districts see FIRST programs as a way to beef up STEM
offerings and provide opportunities to enhance learning outside the
school day, says McCallum.
— Aaron Schmitz, a mechanical engineer with Microsoft
and a FIRST program alumnus
That’s one reason program offerings for students ages 6-18
have seen “phenomenal demand,” s