Review pages in this section for an overview of the FIRST program and the Robotics Competition of which MARS is a participant.
Official FIRST Website
For complete information on not only the FIRST Robotics Competition that MARS participates in, but on FIRST Lego Leagues for Middle School students and the FIRST VEX Competition for High School students visit their official site. There all news, documents and issues pertaining to the FIRST organization are assessible.
About FIRST
FIRST is a multinational non-profit organization that aspires to transform culture, making science, math, engineering, and technology as cool for kids as sports are today. It is dedicated to changing the way America’s young people regard science and technology and to inspiring an appreciation for the real-life rewards and career opportunities in these fields.
The Competition
This unique varsity sport of the mind is played by remote-controlled robots. The robots are designed and built in six weeks by a team of high-school aged young people with guidance from engineer-mentors. Each team creates its own custom designed robot from a kit of basic parts to meet a new engineering challenge or game which is released in January each year. Following an autonomous period where robots are preprogrammed to independently perform tasks, students pilot the robots on a playing field.
Scholarship Opportunities
Over $10 million in scholarship awards are available exclusively to FIRST students from some of the leading colleges and universities. Over 77 institutions currently provide 332 scholarship opportunities, and the number has been growing yearly.
Impact
FIRST offers high school students a rare and valuable experience.The FRC trains individuals in communication, project managment, teamwork and more. Results of studies are found on this page.