12,000 Students from Around the World to Compete in High-Energy Robotic Matches During Annual FIRST® Championship in St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST Celebrates Its 25th Year of Inspiring Young People to Become Leaders in Science and Technology
(BUSINESS WIRE) — April 21, 2014 — FIRST®:
WHO
- Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) to inspire young people’s interest in science and technology
- 12,000 students from 38 countries will celebrate innovation and compete with their custom-built robots
- Special guests: a musical guest to deliver a surprise not to be missed; Dr. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for Science, NASA; among others
- Expected attendance: 30,000 friends, parents, Mentors, Coaches, Volunteers, Sponsors, and general public
WHAT
- FIRST Championship is the culmination of student teams who participated in regional FIRST competitions held across the U.S. and around the world, beginning last fall
- During spirited, high-intensity matches, students put their custom-built robots to the test with the help of Mentors and professional engineers
- The final high-energy round of robotic showdowns happens on Saturday afternoon, April 26
-
FIRST Championship offers three levels of competition and one
student exhibition for students ages 6-18:
- Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLL®) World Festival Expo (ages 6-9);
- FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) World Festival (ages 9-14; 9-16 outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico);
- FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC®) World Championship (ages 12-18); and
- FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®) Championship (ages 14-18).
PHOTO OPS:
- Students dressed in spirited, colorful team uniforms, tinkering with robots that they built; competing in riveting fast-paced matches.
- Students ages 6-14 working together and sharing innovative solutions for handling natural disasters and other weather-related, real-world problems.
- Lynn Tilton, CEO of Jane Cosmetics, and celebrity hair stylist Ken Paves empowering female students to feel confident and courageous.
- America Makes 3D Printing Playground will provide kids of all ages with a hands-on opportunity to experience 3D printing: custom cookie cutters, wind turbine design, personalized gear sculpture, and glow-in-the-dark jewelry!
- Innovation Zone: Join United States Patent and Trademark office experts in an activity called “Race to the Patent.”
STORY LEADS INCLUDE:
- Encouraging increased female interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) – FIRST is engaging more all-female teams in a field typically dominated by men;
- STEM workforce development – More than 200 of the Fortune 500 companies rely on FIRST to fuel the workforce pipeline with future innovative problem solvers;
- Creating the next generation of innovators – FIRST participants tackle real-world problems, and take on engineering challenges under strict guidelines and hard deadlines – with no instructions. On their own, with guidance from adult Mentors, FIRST students come up with innovative solutions and learn that failure is part of the learning process.
WHEN & WHERE (key events are in bold font)
| April 24-26 in the Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis (All times CT) | |||
| Thursday, April 24 | |||
| 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. | FRC and FTC Qualification Matches | ||
| 1 – 6:30 p.m. | FRC and FTC Qualification Matches | ||
| Friday, April 25 | |||
| 8:30 – 9:15 a.m. | FIRST Championship Welcome / FRC Opening Ceremonies sponsored by Monsanto – Dome/Einstein | ||
| 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. | FRC Qualification Matches | ||
| 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Jr.FLL Expo – Expo area | ||
| 10:45 a.m. – 12 p.m. | FTC Qualification Matches | ||
| 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. | FLL Competition Matches | ||
| 12 – 1 p.m. | Dean’s List Presentation – America’s Ballroom | ||
| 1 – 3:45 p.m. | FTC Qualification Matches | ||
| 1 – 6 p.m. | FRC Qualification Matches | ||
| 1 – 2:30 p.m. | Jr.FLL Closing Ceremonies – Ferrara Theater | ||
| Saturday, April 26 | |||
| 8:15 – 10:30 a.m. | FRC Qualification Matches | ||
| 9:30 – 10:15 a.m. | FTC Final Matches | ||
| 10 – 11:30 a.m. | FLL Closing Ceremonies and Awards – America’s Ballroom | ||
| 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. | FTC Closing Ceremonies and Awards – America’s Ballroom | ||
| 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. | FIRST Championship Closing and Awards Ceremonies sponsored by UTC – Dome/Einstein | ||
| 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. | FRC Final Matches – Dome/Einstein | ||
| 6 – 10 p.m. | FIRST Finale – America’s Center | ||
2014 FIRST Championship Presenting Sponsor: Qualcomm Incorporated
2014 FIRST Championship Program Sponsors include: Monsanto Company, Abbott Fund, Boeing Company, Coca-Cola Company, FedEx Corporation, NASA, NRG Energy, Inc., United States Air Force, and United Technologies Corporation.
Other 2014 FIRST Championship Sponsors include: America Makes, Autodesk, Bechtel Corporation, Best Buy Co., Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Central Intelligence Agency, Comcast NBCUniversal, Culinary Institute of America, GoDaddy, International Association of Emergency Managers, International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), Leidos, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Mouser Electronics, Inc., Novelis, Inc., Nvidia Corporation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Patriarch Partners, LLC (I am Jane; Ken Paves), Siemens, Southwest Airlines, SpaceX, Underwriters Laboratories, and Vulcan Spring.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Media can register online to attend FIRST Championship:
http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/cmp-media-registration
For additional information about featured speakers and celebrity guests, please contact us after April 23, 2014.
INFORMATION
www.usfirst.org
SOCIAL MEDIA
Official
FIRST Facebook
Official
FIRST Twitter
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 over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies
and more than $19 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit
organization hosts the
FIRST®
Robotics Competition (FRC® ) for
students in Grades 9-12;
FIRST®
Tech Challenge (FTC® ) for Grades
7-12;
FIRST®
LEGO® League (FLL®
) for Grades 4-8; and
Junior
FIRST® LEGO®
League (Jr.FLL®) for Grades K-3.
Gracious
Professionalism® is a way of doing things that
encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and
respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST,
go to
www.usfirst.org.
Contact:
For FIRST
Ashley Aruda, 617-943-1248
Email Contact
or
Emily
Carlucci, 919-395-9568
Email Contact