Located in East Orlando, Florida, MECO is focused on developing students’ problem solving skills, expanding STEM capabilities, collaborating with others and expanding interest in robotics while teaching practical skills.

Our team designs, assembles and creates robots for the FIRST Robotics Competition, improving on previous designs and engaging students by having them build, design and assemble the robot based on specific game challenges created by FIRST. The competition season is January-March, although we meet year-round for training, outreach, and teambuilding.

FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges.

An international not-for-profit organization (501(c)(3)) founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Alumni of FIRST programs gain access to exclusive scholarships, internships, and other opportunities that create connections and open pathways to a wide variety of careers.

Read more about the impact of FIRST or download our FAQs.

FIRST Robotics Competition combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. It is the ultimate Sport for the Mind. High-school student participants call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.”

Under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. Each season ends with an exciting FIRST Championship.