A Letter from FIRST President Paul R. Gudonis
Constructing a Memory
Hello FIRST Community:
This summer as I watched the media coverage of the Beijing Olympics, I was struck not only by the history being made for China, but also the millions of memories made for the athletes at the games. For many, their lives will be forever changed because of the opportunities they gained for themselves from years of dedication to their sport. And, it is no different for the FIRST Community. Every season you not only construct robots; but you build memories, skills, and careers options. And the 2008 season of memories began this month with the kickoffs in FIRST LEGO League, Junior FIRST LEGO League, and FIRST Tech Challenge. Let the 2008/09 FIRST games begin!
The 2008 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) League season is part of a year-long celebration marking a decade of inspiring future scientists and engineers. Since the program’s start in 1998, hundreds of thousands of children worldwide have realized their potential to make real change in their communities and the world by applying science and technology to solve problems. In the 2007 “Power Puzzle” Challenge season, more than 115,000 students conducted energy audits in their communities and offered suggestions totaling an estimated $120 million worth of potential savings.
This year’s FLL Challenge, called “Climate Connections,” calls for teams of middle-school students, ages 9 to 14, to use robotics and scientific research to discover the links between science, people, resources, and communities; unearth how we learn about past climates; and delve into questions surrounding our current and future climatic conditions. While discovering the complexity of our terrestrial climates, teams will gain an understanding of the hurdles scientists must overcome to learn about past climates and consider future climatic conditions. (See related FLL article.)
In conjunction with the 2008 season Kickoff this year, FLL launched a new social site at www.FIRSTLEGOLeague.org. The site establishes a fun and inviting, global, online community where users can learn about the FLL program, see season schedules, register teams, create a Team Site, or join in on a Forum.
FIRST also kicked off the 2008 Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) “Climate Connections” season. Now in its fifth year, Junior FIRST LEGO League is geared towards 6 to 9 year-olds, introducing them to the wonders of science and technology through traditional, open-ended LEGO building with an age-appropriate Challenge based on the FIRST LEGO League theme.
In other news, FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) estimates that 10,000 high-school students will “Face Off” in 2008. FTC officially launched its 2008 season with an online Kickoff event unveiling this year’s game, “Face Off!" This year, FTC’s game is bigger and better, with an advanced challenge to inspire real-world thinking. (See related FTC article.)
All the while, FIRST Robotics Competition is gearing up for the January 2009 Kickoff, putting the finishing touches on the game design and challenge.
So, with the games in process and our season started, we invite you to not only construct a robot; but to build some memories, new skills, and lifelong friends with FIRST.
Go Teams!
Paul R. Gudonis
President, FIRST