About
Arizona FIRST LEGO League & FIRST Robotics Programs offer hands-on STEM learning through building models with LEGO bricks, designing and building robots, and programming robots to follow autonomous commands. Participants take part in real-world problem-solving experiences such as investigating real-world themes, building a robot to compete in a mission-based robotics game, and coding, designing and competing with robots in dynamic and exciting challenges. Teams also create a team identity, raise funds to meet goals, engage in community outreach, and advance appreciation for STEM in their community through engineering innovation and real-world research, coding and design.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: Teams participate in friendly local festivals between December and April.
FIRST LEGO League is a guided, global robotics program that introduces STEM to children ages 4–14 through fun, exciting hands-on learning and is divided into three age-based divisions: Discover, Explore and Challenge. Discover is an introductory STEM program for Grades PreK–1, ages 4–6, for classrooms or programs that serve eight or more students and is not available as an individual team option. Explore is for Grades 2–4, ages 6–10, delivered in-class or as a team of 2–6 members, with teams participating in friendly local festivals between December and April. Challenge is for Grades 4–8, ages 9–14, delivered in-class or as a team of 2–10 members, with teams participating in local qualifiers and an Arizona FLL Challenge State Championship hosted by ASU each January.
FIRST Tech Challenge involves designing and building robots to compete in a dynamic and exciting challenge released every September, where student drivers take control in two-on-two matches. FIRST Robotics Competition teams design, program and build industrial-sized robots to play an action-packed game on a themed field, with the game released in January and played as part of a three-team alliance in the spirit of Coopertition, and each team engages in 360-degree learning guided by adult mentors.
FIRST is a global nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen and is described as the world’s leading youth-serving nonprofit advancing STEM education. FIRST prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4–18 (PreK–12) that build skills, confidence and resilience. Since 2008, Arizona State University has partnered with FIRST to empower Arizona students to explore STEM, and FIRST has been bringing competitive robotics to life for more than 35 years.
FIRST programs receive support from a network of volunteers, educators and sponsors/donors, including over 200 Fortune 500 companies. Many FIRST LEGO League teams are volunteer-led, often by parents who take on the role of coach, and teams often form through local schools, libraries or youth organizations, frequently meeting in coaches’ homes such as garages, basements or other flexible spaces. Anyone can start a FIRST team, as long as there is space and willingness to host team meetings, and each team needs two adult lead coaches. Teams form independently within local communities and manage their own membership, meeting schedule and funding, and due to privacy policies, ASU and FIRST do not match youth with existing teams.
Individual teams can register to compete in official FIRST LEGO League events and can advance through local and regional competitions and qualify for the FIRST Championship, an international celebration of STEM and innovation. FIRST Class Pack provides a way to bring the full FIRST LEGO League experience to a group of students in an educational setting, with Class Pack teams participating in exhibitions and local festivals organized by their school or organization and not advancing through the official competition pathway unless separately registered as individual teams. There is a place for schools, organizations or groups of enthusiastic families in the FIRST LEGO League community, with help available to get started.
The Arizona FIRST LEGO League & FIRST Robotics Programs leadership team includes Elaine Michaud, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST LEGO League with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University; Christine Sapio, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST Tech Challenge with CocoNuts FRC Team #2486; David Thompson, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST Tech Challenge with CocoNuts FRC Team #2486; and Annalisa Regalado, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST Robotics Competition with AZFirst.
Last updated January 8, 2026.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: Teams participate in friendly local festivals between December and April.
FIRST LEGO League is a guided, global robotics program that introduces STEM to children ages 4–14 through fun, exciting hands-on learning and is divided into three age-based divisions: Discover, Explore and Challenge. Discover is an introductory STEM program for Grades PreK–1, ages 4–6, for classrooms or programs that serve eight or more students and is not available as an individual team option. Explore is for Grades 2–4, ages 6–10, delivered in-class or as a team of 2–6 members, with teams participating in friendly local festivals between December and April. Challenge is for Grades 4–8, ages 9–14, delivered in-class or as a team of 2–10 members, with teams participating in local qualifiers and an Arizona FLL Challenge State Championship hosted by ASU each January.
FIRST Tech Challenge involves designing and building robots to compete in a dynamic and exciting challenge released every September, where student drivers take control in two-on-two matches. FIRST Robotics Competition teams design, program and build industrial-sized robots to play an action-packed game on a themed field, with the game released in January and played as part of a three-team alliance in the spirit of Coopertition, and each team engages in 360-degree learning guided by adult mentors.
FIRST is a global nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen and is described as the world’s leading youth-serving nonprofit advancing STEM education. FIRST prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4–18 (PreK–12) that build skills, confidence and resilience. Since 2008, Arizona State University has partnered with FIRST to empower Arizona students to explore STEM, and FIRST has been bringing competitive robotics to life for more than 35 years.
FIRST programs receive support from a network of volunteers, educators and sponsors/donors, including over 200 Fortune 500 companies. Many FIRST LEGO League teams are volunteer-led, often by parents who take on the role of coach, and teams often form through local schools, libraries or youth organizations, frequently meeting in coaches’ homes such as garages, basements or other flexible spaces. Anyone can start a FIRST team, as long as there is space and willingness to host team meetings, and each team needs two adult lead coaches. Teams form independently within local communities and manage their own membership, meeting schedule and funding, and due to privacy policies, ASU and FIRST do not match youth with existing teams.
Individual teams can register to compete in official FIRST LEGO League events and can advance through local and regional competitions and qualify for the FIRST Championship, an international celebration of STEM and innovation. FIRST Class Pack provides a way to bring the full FIRST LEGO League experience to a group of students in an educational setting, with Class Pack teams participating in exhibitions and local festivals organized by their school or organization and not advancing through the official competition pathway unless separately registered as individual teams. There is a place for schools, organizations or groups of enthusiastic families in the FIRST LEGO League community, with help available to get started.
The Arizona FIRST LEGO League & FIRST Robotics Programs leadership team includes Elaine Michaud, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST LEGO League with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University; Christine Sapio, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST Tech Challenge with CocoNuts FRC Team #2486; David Thompson, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST Tech Challenge with CocoNuts FRC Team #2486; and Annalisa Regalado, Arizona program delivery partner for FIRST Robotics Competition with AZFirst.
Last updated January 8, 2026.
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