Learn about FIRST
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is a world-wide organization that promotes STEM through robotics for students in elementary school, middle school, and high school. Watch these short videos to learn more about their mission and how it works. ​
Fill out this form
By registering your interest, you will be put on a low-volume mailing list to receive information about robotics opportunities in Brookline. 
Know the Team Basics
To start a FLL Challenge team, you'll need...
  • A team of up to 10 kids in 5th - 8th grade ~ all skills levels are welcome!
  • At least 2 adults to be coaches (technical experience is not required)
  • A space to work and store parts (could be as small as a box and a table or as big as a garage or spare room)
Hear from 10-year coach, Adam Rizika, about his experience heading elementary school, middle school, and high school teams. 
​Learn more about FLL Challenge here. ​
Create a FIRST Account
As a coach, you will need to make a FIRST account to register your team, access coaching resources, purchase parts, and more. Create your account here. 
Register Your Team
FLL Challenge season registration costs $225. This includes the 2020-2021 team participation fee and printed copies of the Team Meeting Guide, Robot Game Rulebook, and student Engineering Notebooks. Using your FIRST account, register your team! Congrats! :) 
​Once you register, you will receive information about competitions and scrimmages and gain access to coaching guides and resources. 
Buy Materials and Parts
In order to get your team rolling, there are a few more parts you need to purchase.
Here are those parts:
  • RePLAY Challenge Set $75 - this includes your Challenge mat (Very important! It's what the robot runs on during competitions, scrimmages, and practices) and LEGO mission models.
  • LEGO® Education SPIKE ($340) or LEGO Mindstorms Ev3 ($465) - only for new teams​​ ​
Or
Which one should I buy? (SPIKE vs EV3)
If you and your kids are just starting out with robotics, SPIKE parts are probably best for you at the moment. This is because they use simpler coding and prepare kids for the more advanced EV3s. However, if you or your kids have some prior experience with robotics and feel that you can make the splurge, the EV3s allow for more advanced learning and growth through real-life modeling and an interactive screen menu. With that being said, you can always upgrade from SPIKE parts to EV3 once you feel your team has outgrown them.
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You can buy either new or gently used SPIKE or EV3 parts through FIRST. Keep in mind, only new teams need to buy these parts. Once you've bought them, they can be used again and again for many years to come. 
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  • It is also recommended that teams have a computer or tablet for researching and coding

This may seem like a lot to buy, but if you look at it as an investment in your child(ren)'s future that they and you will remember forever, we hope you'll see it's totally worth it. ​Additionally, there are often grants teams can apply for if costs become an issue. Check out the FIRST website to see if there are any grants available for your team.  ​
Congratulations! You've got a team! 
What are you waiting for? Organize a team meeting and get going! A great place to start is by watching the challenge video for this year and brainstorming some possible designs and strategies. FIRST also has some great tutorial videos on Youtube that you could check out to get ideas. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and have a blast! You got this!
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​Check out our resources for coaches page below to see the supports we've compiled. 
Found a great resource that's not on this list? Let us know at brooklineroboticsinitiative@gmail.com, so we can add it. Your fellow coaches will thank you! :)

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We know being a coach is not easy! If you have any questions or need support, feel free to reach out to us at brooklineroboticsinitiative@gmail.com