Brains Meet Mechanical Brawn: Thousands of students and their custom-built robots to compete at the 13th Annual New York City (NYC) FIRST Celebration

NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 200 student teams will compete in the 13^th 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. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130220/CL63191 )

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."

For more information on the New York City FIRST Celebration, please visit the New York City Website located at:

http://www.nycfirst.org

About New York City FIRST

New York City FIRST is the regional office of FIRST, the 501c3 not-for-profit organization that inspires youth to pursue careers in science and technology and to help students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the technologically-driven global economy.  Participation in FIRST has a positive impact on the lives of students, increasing college attendance, majors in science and engineering, participation in internships and co-ops, and involvement in community service.

Contact:

George Nikanorov
Head of Marketing
DATA Inc.
(201) 799-4937
[email protected]

Patricia Daly
Regional Director
New York City FIRST
(718) 260-3383      
[email protected]

SOURCE NYC FIRST/DATA Inc.