Welcome to our MI middle school FLL teams looking to transition to middle school FTC! A synopsis of the program is below followed by info on available grants. It's a bit long of a read but worth it!
FIRST In Michigan FTC is a middle school only program giving this age group their own "turf" on which to learn and play. FTC has proven to be a great fit for middle school students - keeping them engaged in STEM while building 21st century skills like programming in Java, app development, metal TETRIX build platform, and they control their robots with Smart Phones! Our middle school FTC students take their applicable skills and hit the ground running when they join their high school FRC teams. Visit our MI FTC State Championship photos to see our teams and program in action.
The 2016-2017 Team Start Up Guide provides an overview of the program and answers many FAQs. An often asked question is the appropriateness of the program for 6th grade students. We currently have many 6th graders on middle school FTC teams; a mixed age team works best as the older students can help bridge the knowledge gap of the younger ones. Plus, then your team will only need to re-populate the 8th graders year to year. Great sustainability plan!