Expanding STEM one county at a time.
Driven by students, for students.
Our Mission
The goal of FIRST Across Iowa is to bring at least one type of FIRST team to every county in Iowa. To accomplish this goal, we’re asking FIRST teams in counties adjacent to counties without teams to reach out to those counties without teams.
If accomplished, this will be a monumental achievement and will become a leading example of a STEM accessibility across the world. If other states or communities follow our example, we could reach our long term goal; getting FIRST to every country. The number of kids reached worldwide could increase exponentially.
What is FIRST?
Grades: PreK - 8
FIRST LEGO League guides youth through STEM learning and exploration at an early age. From Discover, to Explore, and then to Challenge, students will understand the basics of STEM and apply their skills in an exciting competition while building habits of learning, confidence, and teamwork skills along the way.
Grades: 7 - 12
FIRST Tech Challenge students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles, while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and working as a team. Teams design and build robots, raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach to earn specific awards.
Grades: 9 - 12
FIRST Robotics Competition students are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get.
Resources for Creating a Team
Lesson Plans
Confused on where, and how to start an FLL team? Through this initiative, we are providing lesson plans for FLL classes, creating a seamless transition for FIRST newcomers.
Tutorials
We are also providing videos of classes, and tutorials for more in-depth, hands-on learning. These videos are for everyone: coaches, mentors, and students!
Personal Help
For personal assistance, contact us, and we will reach out to you. Our team has a wealth of experience, and we are more than happy to share!
