rom: Andrew Davidson <adavid7@uw.edu>
Subject: [dub] Volunteers sought for robotics competition
Date: September 15, 2012 7:59:23 AM PDT
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nonprofit that runs robotics competitions for K-12 students around the world. Founded by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, FIRST’s mission is to “transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.”
This robotics program is wildly successful at getting kids engaged and excited about learning in science and technology. Kamen’s idea is that STEM fields should have heroes and role models that are just as captivating in our society to kids as sports and pop culture.
Kids work in teams to design, build, and deploy robots in tournaments. At the high school level, they build, code, test, manage projects, do fund-raising, marketing, and bring their creations to an arena competition. Imagine the excitement of a Husky game, but all about engineering. If you’ve been involved at all, you probably understand. If not, why not check it out this year? It is tons of fun.
The Washington chapter of FIRST (firstwa.org), one of the largest and most successful in the country, is looking for key volunteers to help organize events this season. If you are interested, more info is here: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/pnw-first/message/3049 . Guaranteed good times!
Thanks.
.andy (Coach, FRC Team 4180, Roosevelt HS)
• Andrew Davidson
Senior Lecturer, Human-Centered Design & Engineering
Director, HCDE Educational Laboratories
+ University of Washington