Happy Computer Science Education Week! For #CSEdWeek and beyond, FIRST^® is offering a variety of fun coding activities, resources, and an Hour of Code event for the FIRST community to explore computer science concepts and their link to robotics, including:

• Watch our video on computational thinking.
• Work on the Amazon Future Engineer Cyber Robotics Challenge or start one of the AWS activities on our FIRST @ Home page.
• Join us on FIRSTtv for an Hour of Code event on Saturday, December 12, at 1p.m. ET for a live tutorial on using the FIRST^® Robotics Competition Robot Simulator and deploying FIRST Robotics Competition code to the affordable Romi Chassis for code development at home.

Read more about our resources for STEM learning using programming and computational thinking from FIRST Education Director Libby Simpson on the Inspire blog.

Star Wars: Force for Change, FIRST, and The LEGO Group have teamed up to challenge fans ages 13 and up to reimagine their LEGO bricks into Star Wars holiday-inspired builds. Share a photo of your LEGO Star Wars builds on Instagram or Twitter with #LEGOStarWarsHolidayContest and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a FIRST^® LEGO^® League experience and exciting LEGO prizes! A panel of judges for the contest will include Star Wars Actress Kelly Marie Tran, LEGO Star Wars design director Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, and FIRST LEGO League alumni Sanjay and Arvind Seshan.

The FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff event is one month away, when we’ll reveal three new ways to play this season. Tune in to FIRSTtv on January 9 to celebrate the start of the FIRST^® GAME CHANGERS^SM powered by Star Wars: Force for Change INFINITE RECHARGE^SM season alongside the entire FIRST community. During the broadcast, we’ll reveal the details of the FIRST Robotics Competition Game Design Challenge, INFINITE RECHARGE at Home, and the all-new FIRST Innovation Challenge presented by Qualcomm, which is also open to FIRST^® Tech Challenge teams.

BAE Systems, which has supported FIRST since 1995, continues their collaboration with FIRST as a Strategic Partner, helping students push the limits of what is possible and giving them a chance to change the world. The designation recognizes BAE Systems as providing the highest level of sponsorship through cumulative and overarching support of FIRST.

Whether it’s clothing, graduation cords, jewelry, or gadgets, the FIRST Store has the perfect gifts for everyone. Check out exciting new apparel featuring your favorite droids in the FIRST GAME CHANGERS powered by Star Wars: Force for Change collection, available exclusively in the FIRST Store.