About FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an innovative educational facility supporting inventor/entrepreneur Dean Kamen's national program to create interest in science and math by engaging young people in the world of engineering and robotics.
FIRST Senior Robotics Competition began in 1999, when 274 high school teams, mentored by local engineering and technology firms, each created a robot in 6 weeks. The student-designed robots compete regionally, and then nationally at Disney's EPCOT Center.
Based
on the success of this program, FIRST was created as a facility to provide teachers
and students with an environment for exploring concepts
of math, science, and technology. They offer workshops
on teaching methods, calling upon educators, engineers,
scientists and technology specialists to serve as mentors.
FIRST
With
their skill in providing innovative, interactive teaching
methods, FIRST
and it's staff of educators collaborate with University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College in developing and technologists use to develop space and Earth science
curricula for pre-service teachers at University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth
College.
TEACHING OUR TEACHERS
NHSGC support is used to offer seminars, professional development workshops, and on-site
consultation for New Hampshire school teachers and pre-service teachers, particularly
science educators. UNH and Dartmouth College scientists
and science educators are included as guest instructors.
These college level courses incorporate concepts and processes that cross many scientific disciplines, and are selected specifically for elementary school teachers. The course material reflects national/state standards and demonstrates methods of teaching and assessing elementary school students.
Their teaching method: content placed in context—using electromagnetism to build a motor to power something useful to society, building a robot to help with city infrastructure like painting lines on highways, or developing robotic ways of removing toxic waste.
NASA-funded
educational materials are used and given to the students
whenever possible, and occasionally the staff include demonstrations
developed at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.