Introducing the 2026-2027 Season: FIRST CANOPY

Engineer a thriving planet with FIRST.  

Nothing on Earth thrives alone. Every gene, species, and ecosystem is part of a rich web of biological diversity which powers clean air, fresh water, and food. With STEM as their tool and nature as inspiration, today's boldest innovators are finding new ways to strengthen the connections that protect our shared home. Building. Problem solving. Growing stronger through teamwork. 

• Count down to the 2026-2027 BIOBUZZ™ season kickoff on Saturday, September 12 at 12:00 p.m. ET (8:00 am AKDT).
• Kickoff events will be held in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau on September 12th. Event details will be posted on the Calendar.
• Hardship grants are available. Email Alyson at acooper@jedc.org if you think your team would qualify. Veteran teams are also eligible this year.
• 2026-2027 BIOBUZZ™ Game and Season Materials are available.
• Stay up to date with FIRST^® Tech Challenge Blog.

Registration for BIOGLOW™ is open!

We are using the Founders Edition.

2026-2027 BIOGLOW™ Season Materials are available for Explore and Challenge teams.

Go to the website raffle page to request tickets for your team to sell. Half of your team's total sales will go back to the team. Check out the raffle prizes, thanks to Alaska Airlines, Royal Carribean Group, and Alaska 529.

The 2026-2027 FIRST® LEGO® League Season is the final season FIRST® is partnered with LEGO® Education. For more details, please refer to FIRST & LEGO Education Partnership Update.

How does this affect the 2026-2027 FIRST® LEGO® League BIOGLOW™ season? 

• Alaska tournaments will play using FOUNDERS EDITION. This is the FLL we have been playing for decades. For FLL Challenge, you can use Spike Prime (or your trusty old EV3, NXT or RCX if you still have one that runs.) FLL Explore was designed for your Spike Essential or WeDo. Same as our prior seasons.
  • • If you choose to register for FUTURE Edition, you will need to buy a CS & AI robot (or two, if you are FLL Challenge) and we will support some sort of celebration for you, separate or as part of our Founders tournament. PLEASE NOTE THAT FIRST WILL NOT BE USING THE CS&AI ROBOT AFTER THE 2026-27 SEASON. 
• LEGO Education has discontinued sales of the Spike Prime and Spike Essential robots as of June 30, 2026. They will continue to support it until 2031 with software updates, etc. We can use the Spike Prime or Spike Essential robots through the 2028-29 FIRST® season. 
  • • If you do not have a Spike, EV3, or WeDo robot for the season, contact Alyson at acooper@jedc.org and we will help you find a way to play this season.

2027-2028 and beyond:  

• FIRST is creating a new K-8 STEM program that builds on the Core Values and incorporate everything it has learned running FIRST LEGO League for the past 28 years. It is using input from the field about how to create the optimal experience for kids and volunteers. Read more at FIRST® K-8 Programs: 2027 and Beyond.
• Be sure you are registered as Lead Coach 1 or Lead Coach 2 for an FLL team to receive Team Blasts, or you can sign up for Team Blasts at: https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/fll/email-blast-archive.  

Keep an eye out for future updates, and email Alyson at acooper@jedc.org if you have any questions.

BIOBUZZ Scoring Element and More Revealed!

The BIOBUZZ scoring element, Pollen, has been released! Additionally, each of the robot kit companies have released a starter bot base! Each base is capable of intaking the Pollen, but we will have to wait till the Season Kick-off on September 12th to see what the bots will do with the Pollen! 

Get a headstart on the BIOBUZZ Season!

Inside the FTC BIOBUZZ announcement FIRST released a series of "Skill Builders". These are designed to set teams up for the Kick-off of the 2026-2027 Season, and introduce foundational FTC skill in a series of guided challenges revolving around the core aspects of BIOBUZZ. We recommend all FTC teams check these out!