FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is an innovative program founded by inventor Dean Kamen. Dean Kamen's vision was to give science and technology the same esteem as music and sports by getting students excited about robotics. In the FIRST program, high schoolers work alongside engineers and mentors to invent and build their own competitive robots in just six weeks. During that short time they not only gain a great amount of experience with the fabrication of robots and how a technological business works, but they also get to see real engineers in action. This environment of fun and challenges often inspires students to become engineers themselves. By teaching the students while they are young, the program ensures that in the future there will be an abundance of brilliant engineers and scientists leading the way in the technology business. The benefits don't stop with the students. The FIRST program also benefits businesses that get involved as well. Also the many engineers and other volunteers involved come away from the program having learned as much if not more than the students do. Businesses, corporations, or agencies like NASA and BAE Systems do their best to get their engineers and other employees involved in FIRST for this very reason.

FIRST LEGO® League (FLL), considered the “Lego” version of the FIRST Robotics Competition, is the result of a partnership between FIRST and the LEGO® group. FLL extends the FIRST concept of inspiring and celebrating science and technology to children aged 9 through 14, using real-world context and hands-on experimentation. In 2004, over 50,000 children worldwide participated!

With the help of LEGO® MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System® technology, young participants can build a robot and compete in a friendly, FIRST-style robotics event specially designed for their age group. Using LEGO® bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors, and gears, teams gain hands-on experience in engineering and computer programming principles.

Teams compete based on two categories: the research, which requires the team to create a presention on a topic related to that year's challenge, and the robotic aspect which involves building a robot to solve a given set of missions. Teams have 3 months to prepare their robots and research to be presented at local, state, and international tournaments. There are four judging categories: the research presentation, the robotic challenge, robot design, and teamwork. Teams win awards in each of these categories and the team that does the best in all of these categories combined wins the coveted Director's Award!