Robotics Student Program Kick-off January 7 at NASA Wallops Visitor Center

High school students from Maryland and Virginia will converge at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility’s Visitor Center January 7 to learn the challenge before them for participation in the 2012 FIRST Robotics competition.

As part of the program, several local teams will build robots and compete in an assigned game challenge against other teams from the mid-Atlantic region and then, hopefully, move on to compete nationally.

Amy Davis, FIRST Robotics coordinator at NASA Wallops, said, “Through this competition, local students learn a variety skills that will support them throughout life. It’s not just about the computer programming and constructing a robot to complete an assigned task, but also learning to work in a team environment. Everyone involved, from the students to mentors from the community, has a wonderful experience.”

The kick-off, which is open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. with teams that participated in the 2011 competition displaying their robots. At 9:45 a.m., students and the public will gather in the Visitor Center auditorium for opening marks.

The event the students are eagerly anticipating, the announcement of the 2012 game challenge, will be carried live when it is announced at 10 a.m. from Manchester, New Hamsphire, the home of FIRST.

For more information on NASA education programs at the Wallops Flight Facility, visit: http://education.wff.nasa.gov/