FIRST® is an international organization that holds robotics competitions and exhibitions. FIRST Robotics Canada is an umbrella organization that was established in 2001 to meet the growing need for  student robotics programs in Canada. Our mission is to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in the fields of science, technology and engineering. 

Our vision is of a world which celebrates success in science, technology and engineering, and in which young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes. We pursue our mission primarily through running robotics competitions for school-age students at the elementary and high school level. 

FIRST Robotics Competition

In our FIRST Robotics Competition program, teams of approximately 20 to 30 high school students work with teachers and mentors from the community to build and program fast moving, complex robots.

FIRST Tech Challenge

FIRST Tech Challenge teams (2-15 members, ages 12-18) are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Participants call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have!”Guided by adult Coaches and Mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles (like keeping an engineering notebook), while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and sharing ideas. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and can be programmed using a variety of languages, including Java. Teams also must raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach for which they can win awards. Participants have access to tens of millions of dollars in college scholarships. Each season concludes with Super-Regional Championships and an exciting FIRST Championship.

FIRST LEGO League Challenge
Teams of students ages 9-14 engage in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering – building and programming a  robot that navigates the missions of a robot game. As part of Challenge, teams also participate in a research project to identify and solve a relevant real-world problem.

FIRST LEGO League Explore

In Explore, teams of students ages 6-10 focus on the fundamentals of engineering as they explore real-world problems, learn to design and code, and create unique solutions made with LEGO bricks and powered by LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0

FIRST LEGO League Discover 

For children ages 4-6, this playful introductory STEM program ignites their natural curiosity and builds their habits of learning with hands-on activities in the classroom and at home using LEGO® Duplo® bricks.

These programs are only possible because of the support of our sponsors. We need to continue to grow these programs in Canada to provide more quality learning opportunities to our youth. FIRST Robotics Canada is a registered Canadian charitable organization (Registration #860047711RR0001).