COVERAGE OP: FIRST Robotics competition at GVSU

More than 1,000 students on 54 high school teams from around the Midwest are gathering at Grand Valley State University to compete in the FIRST Robotics West Michigan Regional Competition at Grand Valley on March 21-22.

MEDIA NOTES: The event is free and open to the public. Media coverage is encouraged. FIRST Robotics is a high-energy event filled with many strong visuals — more like a rock concert or professional wrestling match than a science fair. The competition runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 21 and 22. Complete information, including a detailed schedule and a list of teams, is available at www.westmichiganregional.com

Using a common kit of parts, teams have six weeks to build a robot to compete in a game. The game changes each year. FIRST Robotics helps students get hands-on experience solving real-world problems. They get to discover the excitement and rewards of science and technology careers. Since the program was founded in 1989, it has grown from 28 teams to more than 1,500. Statistics show that those students are significantly more likely to go to college, and they are twice as likely to major in science and engineering. And once they get to college, many will be able to take advantage of scholarships for FIRST participants. Grand Valley has one, as do 100 other institutions -- with a total of more than $9.6 million in scholarships available nationwide.

A group of students from Fruitport High School are competing for the first time. The team is able to compete thanks to a grant from the Alcoa Foundation and academic support from Grand Valley State University. The Alcoa Foundation presented a $7,000 check to the FIRST Robotics team of Fruitport High School in November to help the team to pay its entry fees and to purchase its materials kit.

The funds allocated to the Fruitport FIRST Robotics team are a component of a three-year, $150,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation to Grand Valley State University. The grant funds partnerships between Grand Valley and student teams at high schools in several local Howmet communities. The teams participate in FIRST Robotics or Science Olympiad projects. Grand Valley’s role is in providing engineering graduate students to work with the high school teams to prepare for the robotics competition.

FIRST founder Dean Kamen says his vision for the competition was to create a world where science and technology are celebrated, and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes. The students work alongside mentors to bring their ideas to life.  The mentors are engineers and technicians who volunteer their time to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, areas critical to the U.S.'s survival in the global economy.