About Us
In 1998, FIRST Founder Dean Kamen and the LEGO Group’s Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen joined forces to create FIRST LEGO League (FLL), a powerful program that engages children in playful and meaningful learning while helping them discover the fun in science and technology through the FIRST experience. Over 140,000 children in 56 countries are currently active in FLL.
Dean and Kjeld have a shared belief that FLL inspires teams to research, build, and experiment, and by doing so, they live the entire process of creating ideas, solving problems, and overcoming obstacles, while gaining confidence in their abilities to positively use technology.
About FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., FIRST is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit public charity.
FIRST provides four programs: FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for 14 to 18 year-olds; FLL for 9 to 16 year-olds (9 to 14 in the U.S. and Canada); Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) for 6 to 9 year-olds. FIRST also operates a research, development, and training facility called FIRST Place at its headquarters in New Hampshire, U.S.
“We want to change the culture by celebrating the mind.”
Dean Kamen - Founder, FIRST
About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group is a privately-held firm based in Billund, Denmark. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities through high-quality, creatively educational play materials.
The LEGO Group is the Founding Partner of FLL. Since its inception, the LEGO Group has supported the growth and success of FLL by contributing each year to the development, management, and funding of customized Challenge Kits, Robot Sets, marketing communications resources, volunteers, and more.
LEGO Education is the division within the LEGO Group partnered with FIRST for the FLL program. The division develops educational solutions for children and students from 1½ to 16 years and beyond, including special brick sets, curriculum activity packs, teacher guides and programming tools. For more information, visit www.LEGOeducation.com.
“FLL encourages children to design, construct, and program their own intelligent inventions. This allows them not only to understand technology, but to become masters of it.”
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen - Owner & Deputy Chairman, the LEGO Group