FIRST : "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology."
Founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, FIRST strives to inspire the next generation of leaders in the world of science and technology. In addition to engineering and technological skills, FIRST students learn communication, leadership, and innovation, creating students prepared for careers in science and engineering.
FIRST is comprised of several programs to ensure students of all ages can experience the excitement and thrill of science and technology. These programs include the Junior FIRST Lego League, FIRST Lego League, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition.
Team 696 participates in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), a FIRST program designed for students in grades 9 - 12. In FRC, students are challenged yearly to design, fund, and build a robot in just 6 weeks with specific rules, design constraints, and limited resources.
Each year the rules and game are different, challenging teams to change up their strategies and think outside the box, creating new and innovative solutions for a challenge they might not be expecting. Not only do students have to exercise their imagination to create a winning design, teams only have 6 weeks to do, putting on the pressure for teams to not only work creatively, but also efficiently.
Team 696 also takes pride in giving back to the community. Throughout the year, our students become
mentors themselves, coaching several Lego robotics teams throughout our district.
Ultimately, the knowledge and experience gained through the team is more important than any
competition. Any student who joins FIRST Robotics Team 696, regardless of his or her skill sets, will leave
with an enlightened perspective on teamwork, engineering, and countless other disciplines. Throughout
their FIRST Robotics experience, members of Team 696 become scientists, engineers, managers, and
friends.
