What Is FIRST?

FIRST is an acronym for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology", but it also represents what the organization is about. FIRST is an organization dedicated to introducing and advancing young people's minds in the fields of Science and Technology. Its about bringing kids together to compete towards a single goal; to use the ideas and thoughts of teammaes to find solutions to a given problem. Each year on January 5th FIRST releases a new game, settign a deadline of a mere 6 weeks for teams from around the world to design, prototype, build and program a robot for competition. During this short period, participants put to work the many skills they have and find real, palpable applications the math, science and technology they learn in school.

Dean's Homework

Every year the FIRST kickoff is accompanied with a speech from FIRST's founder, Dean Kamen. He speaks on a variety of subjects each year but there is always one constant; he assigns homework to the teams to expand the exposure of the FIRST organization in the general public. In past years the homework has consisted of a variety of tasks, each one helping to expand the influence and notoriety of the FIRST organization in the United states and the world. Each time a team is able to complete their homework, FIRST becomes that much closer to achieving the goal of broader involvement in the FIRST competition and the generation of greater student interest in the sciences and technologies of today.

This year's homework is involving media coverage. Dean has asked the teams to go out to their local media and invite them to come to a robotics competition. The more radio, television and internet publicity that the FIRST teams can generate, the easier it will be for the organization to grow. The Robodawgs plan on contacting several local media outlets and inviting them to join us at the Midwest regional and Grand valley State University. The Robodawgs hope to have several media resources attend, and will keep this page updated as to the team's general progress.