Why Support Children's Interests In Robotics?
Benefits Of Robotics Education

     "Every year, we would build (in the FIRST Robotics Competition) what amounted to a $300,000 machine just based on the man-hours that go into it, and that's at a simple $10 per hour rate.  How many other after school activities do our kids do today where they walk away after one year with a $300,000 opportunity that they've built?" -  Mark McCombs, TEDx Talks Jacksonville, 2015

• Fostering STEM-focused skills of Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking:
  • Opportunities for comprehensive engagement:
    • Examining and understanding design systems
    • Fostering systems-thinking approach to problem-solving
  • Encouraging processes of problem-solving:  Curiosity, designing, making, connecting, applying, extending, revisiting
  • Opportunities for meeting and working with diverse people, academically and socially, with different view-points and perspectives
• Competition aspect of FIRST and VEX Robotics programs enhances learning
• Appeal to diverse demographics and age groups
• Providing experiences of demonstrating grit and perseverance in preparation for overcoming future challenges and making wise decisions in life outside robotics.
  • Students take ownership of their robots
    • Building sense of accomplishment
    • Building confidence
• Practicing and refining fine motor skills
• Instills and fuels passion for learning new skills and knowledge.  
• Instills motivation to succeed at academics in pursuit of long-term career goals.​

Article: Why STEM and Robotics Education - http://www.robots.education/why-stem-and-robotics-education.html

Stories of Benefits of FIRST Robotics Program

• How Robotics Competitions Close the STEM Skills Gap and Build a Diverse Workforce (EdSurge, July 30, 2018)
• The Only Sport Where Everyone Can Go Pro: Robotics (Kamen & Huffington Post, Feb. 12, 2016)
• 5 Reasons Teenagers Should Join FIRST Robotics (Kalin & Huffington Post, June 16, 2015)​
• How to Hook Young People to Math & Science? Robotics. (PBS NewsHour, May 31, 2015)​

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     Read the full testimonial by Nithusan Ranjanathan (Captain of 2015 Pink Titans) on the impact of the FIRST Robotics program on his career pathway:

• "... it helped me to develop valuable team work skills by the way that we must co-operate as a team."
• "... time management ... is just one of the valuable lessons that our members learned apart from the vast knowledge of the mechanical and electrical aspects."
• "... I finally got to make connections from what we learned (in school) to the real world.  This in turn helped me to pick an appropriate career path."
• "... it is a truly expectional experience which every student should indulge in."

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Statistics of Impact of FIRST Robotics Programs

  The infographic below is a summary of the impact of the FIRST program from the FIRST Longitudinal Studies (FIRSTinspires.org, Dec. 2017):  

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 The infographic below is a summary of the impact of the FIRST program from nine FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation Grants in 2017.  (FIRSTInspires.org, 2017)

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Source:  FIRST Impact Infographic (FIRSTInspires.org, Jan. 2017)

Source:   FIRSTRoboticsCanada.org  (2015)