{"id":163,"date":"2022-05-22T00:29:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-22T00:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jedc.org\/first\/what-is-first\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T17:52:21","slug":"what-is-first","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.jedc.org\/firstinalaska\/what-is-first\/","title":{"rendered":"What is FIRST?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.6&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221;]Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen founded <em>FIRST<\/em> nearly 30 years ago, creating a school-to-career pipeline through which young people are inspired to explore opportunities in science and technology.\u00a0He believed that culture could be positively transformed by inspiring young people and encouraging their schools and communities to appreciate science and technology.\u00a0<em>FIRST<\/em> has successfully formed coalitions with corporations, universities, and public schools to become the premier after-school engineering and robotics competition programs in the nation.<\/p>\n<p><em>FIRST<\/em> offers accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people from the time they start school through high school graduation and offers opportunities for learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Through its continued success, <em>FIRST<\/em> is determined to make Dean Kamen\u2019s hope a reality, <strong><em>\u201cto create a world where science and technology are celebrated . . . where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <em>FIRST<\/em> programs include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> LEGO League (FLL) Discover for grades PreK-1,<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> LEGO League (FLL) Explore\u00a0for grades 2-4,<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> LEGO League (FLL) Challenge for grades 4-8,<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> Tech Challenge (FTC) for grades 9-12, and<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> Robotics Challenge (FRC) also for grades 9-12.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can learn more about the <em>FIRST<\/em> organization at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usfirst.org\">www.firstinspires.org<\/a>. For more information about <em>FIRST<\/em> in Alaska, please contact us at <a href=\"mailto:firstak@jedc.org\">firstak@jedc.org<\/a> or 907-523-2334.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Founded 37 years ago, <em>FIRST<\/em> creates a school-to-career pathway through which young people are inspired to explore opportunities in science and technology. The Organization emphasizes that culture can be positively transformed by inspiring young people and encouraging their schools and communities to appreciate science and technology. <em>FIRST<\/em> has successfully formed coalitions with corporations, universities, and public schools to become the premier after-school engineering and robotics competition programs in the nation.<\/p>\n<p><em>FIRST<\/em> offers accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people from the time they start school through high school graduation and offers opportunities for learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Through its continued success, <em>FIRST<\/em> is determined to cultivate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics in our youth, and instill gracious, proffessional values in the next generation of innovators. Our Programs include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> LEGO League (FLL) Discover for grades PreK-1,<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> LEGO League (FLL) Explore\u00a0for grades 2-4,<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> LEGO League (FLL) Challenge for grades 4-8,<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> Tech Challenge (FTC) for grades 9-12, and<\/li>\n<li><em>FIRST<\/em> Robotics Challenge (FRC) also for grades 9-12.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can learn more about the <em>FIRST<\/em> organization at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usfirst.org\">www.firstinspires.org<\/a>. For more information about <em>FIRST<\/em> in Alaska, please contact us at <a href=\"mailto:firstak@jedc.org\">firstak@jedc.org<\/a> or 907-523-2334.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen founded FIRST nearly 30 years ago, creating a school-to-career pipeline through which young people are inspired to explore opportunities in science and technology.\u00a0He believed that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<hr \/>\n<div>Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen founded <i>FIRST<\/i> nearly 30 years ago, creating a school-to-career pipeline through which young people are inspired to explore opportunities in science and technology.\u00a0He believed that culture could be positively transformed by inspiring young people and encouraging their schools and communities to appreciate science and technology.\u00a0<i>FIRST<\/i> has successfully formed coalitions with corporations, universities, and public schools to become the premier after-school engineering and robotics competition programs in the nation.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div><i>FIRST<\/i> offers accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people from the time they start school through high school graduation and offers opportunities for learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Through its continued success, <i>FIRST<\/i> is determined to make Dean Kamen\u2019s hope a reality, <b><i>\u201cto create a world where science and technology are celebrated . . . where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.\u201d<\/i><\/b><i>\u00a0<\/i><i>FIRST<\/i> programs include:<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span>\u00b7<span style=\"font: 7pt \"Times New Roman\";\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><em>FIRST <\/em>LEGO League (FLL) Discover for grades PreK-1,<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span>\u00b7<span style=\"font: 7pt \"Times New Roman\";\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><em>FIRST <\/em>LEGO League (FLL) Explore\u00a0for grades 2-4,<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, \"Trebuchet MS\"; font-size: 13px; text-indent: -24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; text-indent: -24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><em>FIRST <\/em>LEGO League (FLL) Challenge for grades 4-8,<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span>\u00b7<span style=\"font: 7pt \"Times New Roman\";\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><em>FIRST <\/em>Tech Challenge (FTC) for grades 9-12, and<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span>\u00b7<span style=\"font: 7pt \"Times New Roman\";\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><em>FIRST <\/em>Robotics Challenge (FRC) also for grades 9-12.<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div>You can learn more about the <em>FIRST <\/em>organization at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usfirst.org\">www.firstinspires.org<\/a>. For more information about <em>FIRST<\/em> in Alaska, please contact us at <a href=\"mailto:firstak@jedc.org\">firstak@jedc.org<\/a> or 907-523-2334.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-163","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is FIRST? - FIRST IN ALASKA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jedc.org\/firstinalaska\/what-is-first\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is FIRST? - FIRST IN ALASKA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen founded FIRST nearly 30 years ago, creating a school-to-career pipeline through which young people are inspired to explore opportunities in science and technology.\u00a0He believed that [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jedc.org\/firstinalaska\/what-is-first\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FIRST IN ALASKA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FIRSTinAlaska\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T17:52:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jedc.org\\\/firstinalaska\\\/what-is-first\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jedc.org\\\/firstinalaska\\\/what-is-first\\\/\",\"name\":\"What is FIRST? 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