Do you know any middle or high school students who are interested in developing skills in coding and robotics? FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global nonprofit organization that prepares young people for the future through a variety of team-based robotics programs. Middle and high school students in the Chillicothe area have the opportunity to participate in local FIRST Lego League (FLL) Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams through community organizations. 

For middle schoolers who are interested in learning about the engineering design process and developing basic coding skills, Chillicothe Public Library District is home to FLL Challenge team, The Chilli Polar Bots. For this program, teams engage in the process of building and programming a LEGO SPIKE Prime robot that navigates the missions of a LEGO Technic based robot game. Teams also participate in a research project to identify and solve a real-world problem, and develop presentation skills to share their ideas. The Chilli Polar Bots are looking for students in grades 4-8 to join our team! Registration for the 2025-2026 FLL season will begin in August. Questions can be directed to Brea Fearon, CPLD Youth Librarian at [email protected]. 

Local high school students of any year from any school are eligible to get involved with Robot Casserole, a community-based FRC team. The team is seeking students who are interested in developing skills ranging from building and coding a robot to documenting the development progress using photography. Incoming students don’t have to have any experience or skills in these areas; the team has experienced mentors who are passionate about sharing their professional skills with students. In addition to the active competition season, Robot Casserole works year-round promoting STEM education and FIRST programs through a wide variety of activities—including a camp for middle school students at Chillicothe Public Library this summer! Check out their website robotcasserole.org to learn more. 

Students in grades 5-8 who are interested in learning more about FIRST robotics programs are invited to sign up for a free 3-day camp at Chillicothe Public Library this summer. The students and mentors of Robot Casserole will guide campers through designing and programming a robot to compete in a Sumo Wrestling-like competition. The camp will be held Monday, July 14 – Wednesday July 16, from 9am - 12pm each day. Registration is limited—sign up now at tinyurl.com/5b4rvjfn!