FIRST Programs supported by the Anacortes Robotics Booster Club (ARBC)
ARBC enables offering K-12 students’ in the Anacortes School District the opportunity to get hands-on STEM experiences on teams under the FIRST Robotics suite of programs. Find the right program for you and/or your student below. Use the “Explore details” links to access detailed information about ARBC’s support for that program in our community. To receive periodic program announcements (such as when teams start forming), ask to be added to the “Program Announcements” mailing list.
Note that for some programs (FRC, FTC, and middle school FLL Challenge), ARBC partners with the Anacortes School District to offer team opportunities. For others (elementary/independent FLL Discover/Explore/Challenge), ARBC works with people like you who volunteer as coaches to organize and lead teams each season. All teams need community volunteers; the school district provides only limited support for certain teams, and none for others.
FIRST LEGO League Discover
Ages 4-6, grades PreK-1*
For children ages 4-6, this playful introductory STEM program ignites their natural curiosity and builds their habits of learning with hands-on activities in the classroom and at home using LEGO® DUPLO® bricks.
*classroom-based rather than team-based; hard to organize as a community effort outside of the School District
FIRST LEGO League Explore
Ages 6-10, grades 2-4
In Explore, teams of students ages 6-10 focus on the fundamentals of engineering as they explore real-world problems, learn to design, and code and create unique solutions made with LEGO bricks and powered by LEGO®Education WeDo 2.0.
FIRST LEGO League Challenge
Ages 9-14, grades 4-8
Friendly competition is at the heart of Challenge, as teams of students ages 9-14 engage in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering – building and programming a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game. As part of Challenge, teams also participate in a research project to identify and solve a relevant real-world problem.
FIRST Tech Challenge
Ages 13-18, grades 8-12*
Teams of middle and high school-aged students are challenged to design, build, and program a robot to play a floor game against other teams’ creations.
*ARBC and/or coach’s approval required for grade 8
FIRST Robotics Competition
Ages 14-18, grades 9-12*
High school-aged teams compete head to head on a special playing field with robots they have designed, built, and programmed.
*ARBC and/or coach’s approval required for grade 9.
