WASHINGTON--BUSINESS WIRE--Students on nearly 60 high school teams
representing 11 states and the District of Columbia are bringing robots
to the Nation’s Capitol, March 5-6 to compete in the FIRST
Robotics Competition Washington DC Regional.
“Ten years from today, one of these students is going
to be out in the world having done something extraordinary for a major,
global problem.”
“FIRST is about giving kids the opportunity to build skill sets
like analytical thinking to then develop what they may or may not use to
build a robot; but they might use these skills to become a scientist,
engineer, or inventor,” said Dean Kamen, FIRST Founder, as he
explained how what students learn from FIRST is very different
from other sports. “Ten years from today, one of these students is going
to be out in the world having done something extraordinary for a major,
global problem.”
The student teams - plus engineers, teachers and mentors - will gather
at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC to
compete in this year’s FIRST Challenge, called “BREAKAWAY.”
FRC teams, working with adult mentors, must determine their strategy and
had just six weeks from the kick-off to program, build, and test their
robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. In the game BREAKAWAY,
two alliances of three teams compete on a 27-by-54-foot playing
field with bumps, attempting to earn points by collecting soccer balls
in goals. Additional bonus points are earned for each robot suspended in
the air and not touching the field at the end of the match.
“These students are our future technological workforce,” said Kenneth
Lesley, who is the engineering department chairperson and team leader
for McKinley Technology High School. “FIRST has given them an exposure
to the many possibilities that engineering can offer. I am excited to
see my students begin to consider engineering and technology as possible
career choices.”
The teams will compete in a series of challenges aimed at testing their
robots, building alliances, cooperating in teams and exercising gracious
professionalism in an event designed to encourage their pursuit of
careers in science, engineering, math and technology.
In addition, National Defense Education Program NDEP is hosting
Technology Row for corporate sponsors and university partners to
showcase their latest in technology and research. The goal is to show
students that what they are doing on a FIRST team is relevant to real
world applications.
The DC Regional is one of more than 40 similar events held around the
country in late February, during March and in early April. The DC
Regional is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday,
March 5 and Saturday, March 6.
The DC Regional is one of three regional competitions organized through
the FIRST National Capitol Region, which coordinates FIRST
activities in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The
National Capital Region is presented by sponsors BAE Systems, Booz Allen
Hamilton, Lockheed Martin and NASA. To see a complete listing of
sponsors for the National Capitol Region and the DC Regional, click here.
About FIRST
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science and Technology in 1989 to inspire an
appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in
Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs
to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating
young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and
engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500
companies and nearly $12 million in college scholarships, the
not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition
and FIRST Tech Challenge for high-school students, FIRST LEGO
League for children 9-14 years old, and Junior FIRST LEGO League
for 6 to 9 year-olds. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
LINKS:
Videos showing FIRST teams in action:
Click Here
for video #1. Click Here
for video #2.
