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Welcome to The TEK Center

About Us

STEM for Everyone

The TEK Center is the second iteration of our concept of a community STEM & robotics center for all. The TEKCenter has partnered with local engineers as well as the University's engineering college to bring a world class robotics program to Norhtwest Arkansas.

Who We Are

We are a community of FIRST Robotics teams. FIRST is an international competition dedicated to teaching children engineering and robotics. FIRST has more than 100,000 students across the world. Furthering our cause is the most important goal of our organization. We seek to support, empower, and teach STEM to the NWA community. Our success isn’t measured in terms of wealth or profit margin, but by the value we provide to those we serve. It's why all our programs are free to any dedicated student. Learn more about what we do below.

Robotics Classes

The TEKCenter volunteers at locations throughout NWA, bringing robotics to the community through our Lego Robotics classes. Check our website to see where we'll be teaching this summer! The TEKCenter also will host classes during the summer.

Giving Back to the Community

The TEKCenter believes in supporting the community around us. We volunteer at many community events such as the Goshen United Methodist Church's Crawfish Boil, Camp Sequoyah and many technology camps around the area. FIRST encourages their teams to impact the community by volunteering and teaching students STEM. The TEKCenter is renowned especially for their community service.

FIRST Teams.

The TEKCenter is always looking for new, school aged students to join our teams. We offer two different levels of competition, FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST Lego League (FLL). FTC is for students aged 12-18 and focuses on engineering and programming. FLL is for students aged 7-14 and focuses on public speaking, basic programming and engineering skills. FIRST is not just about robotics; we strive to teach our students real world skills, such as presentation and public speaking. Both teams will meet at 2272 Worth Lane Suite A, Sprigndale. Learn more about each below.

FTC Teams

FTC is a robotics competition for students aged 12-18. Students design a robot that will compete in a different game each year. The challenges fall into one of three major categories: Sorting, Stacking, and Shooting. Teams will program their robot using real world programming software such as Java. FTC has a heavy focus on design, program and engineering. FTC will also teach 3D printing to aid the design process. FTC students and alumni have many opportunities for scholarships and fellowships at a national level.

FLL Teams

FLL is a competition for students aged 7-14. Every year, teams design a robot out of LEGOs and program it with SPIKE to interact with LEGO objects on a field. Teams will also research and solve a real-world problem that differs from year to year and present their findings to a panel of judges. Our 4 FLL teams are mentored by veterans of the program.