FIRST Digital Animation Award (DAA)
This Year’s Theme: Rewind the Future
For 2026-27, imagine a future where STEM and nature work together to bring an ecosystem back to life.
This year's theme is inspired by CANOPY™, the overall theme for the FIRST 2026-27 competition season. Choose a habitat, species, or natural system in need of renewal. Animate how people, technology, and nature could work together to restore its connections and help life return.
Your story might begin with a damaged forest, disappearing pollinators, an unbalanced reef, or a polluted waterway. Where it goes next is up to you. Show us what becomes possible when we rewild the future.
Need a little inspiration?
Bring Back the Buzz: Pollinators help entire ecosystems and our food supply flourish. Imagine technology that supports threatened pollinators, restores their habitats, or helps plants reproduce while natural populations recover. Animate a future where flowers, insects, robots, and people work together to bring a landscape back to life. Learn more about WPI's robotic pollinator research >
Revive the Waters: When algae grow out of balance, they can block sunlight and reduce the oxygen available to aquatic life. Design a nature-friendly system that helps restore a struggling pond, river, or wetland. Animate the transformation from damaged waterway to diverse, healthy habitat. Learn more about WPI students’ work on sustainable pond management >
Protect the Unseen: Illegal wildlife trafficking threatens sharks, rays, sea turtles, and other vulnerable species. Imagine AI, data, and new identification tools helping conservationists recognize protected animals and stop illegal trade before populations disappear. Animate a future where technology gives threatened species a fighting chance. Learn more about WPI’s work to combat wildlife trafficking >
These examples are starting points, not limits. Teams are encouraged to find their own connections between biodiversity, innovation, and storytelling.