Student Robotic-Building Teams to Compete in Annual NYC FIRST Celebration

Over 200 student teams will compete in the 13th Annual NYC FIRST Celebration, March 7-9, 2013 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. A series of competitions will occur throughout the three day event culminating with teams advancing to compete in the FIRST Championship, April 25-27, in St. Louis.

NYC-area and international FIRST teams have been honing their research, engineering and robotic-building skills for this celebration where brains will meet mechanical brawn:

• NYC FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC^®) – March 8-9, 2013 – FRC combines the excitement of sports with science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of high school students are challenged to raise funds, design a "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against competitors. Over 60 high school teams from as far as the United Kingdom, Brazil and Turkey will be competing.
• NYC FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC^®) – March 7-8, 2013 – FTC is designed for those who want to compete using a sports model. Student teams, (grades 7-12) are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Over 60 student teams will be competing.
• NYC FIRST LEGO League (FLL^®) – March 9, 2013 – FLL introduces younger students (grades 4-8) to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FLL teams, guided by their imaginations and adult coaches, discover career possibilities and, through the process, learn to make positive contributions to society. This year, 80 student teams from across the tri-state area will compete.
• NYC Junior FIRST^® LEGO^® League (JrFLL^®) – March 9, 2013 – JrFLL introduces the youngest students (grades K-3) to the exciting worlds of science and technology. Just like FLL, this program features a real-world challenge, to be solved by research, critical thinking and imagination. Guided by adult coaches, students work with LEGO elements and moving parts to create solutions and present them for review. More than 20 elementary schools will be showcasing their creativity and research.

"From researching real-world problems and creating new inventions to building robots alongside professional engineers, this year's FIRST students have engaged in tough, rewarding challenges over the past months," says Pat Daly , Regional Director of New York City FIRST. "I look forward to seeing these talented kids showcase their scientific smarts, new ideas and engineering skills during our series of competitions."