A robotics competition with events for students kindergarten through 12th grade will bring nearly 1,700 people to Weber State University, Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Swenson Gym and Shepherd Union.

Teams from across Utah will attend the FIRST Day competition and state championship to put their engineering skills to the test. Participants will battle robots they have designed, programmed and built.

The competition will include work from young students experiencing their first introduction to technology, as well as teens who have proved their skills in previous qualifying rounds. The day’s events will be divided among FIRST Lego League Jr. for grades kindergarten to fourth, FIRST Lego League for grades fourth to eighth and FIRST Tech Challenge for grades seventh to 12th.

"This is a big day for kids in STEM at WSU,” said Dana Dellinger, Center for Technology Outreach director. “It is exciting to have hundreds of K-12 students, their coaches and families fill the campus to compete for the state championships and show off their projects and robots. These teams have spent the season problem solving, building, designing, programming and basically figuring out how to be a part of the solution.”

Competitors score points when their robots complete certain tasks, such as navigating around obstacles, stacking blocks or picking up debris. Awards and trophies are given based on total points, as well as community outreach and design. Qualifying teams will secure spots in the upcoming World Championship and Western Super-Regional Competition.

Weber State has hosted the FIRST Tech Challenge for the past six years. The university is Utah’s affiliate partner for the FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST Lego League and FIRST Lego League Jr. Through this collaboration, nearly 3,500 students are able to gain hands-on experience with science, math and engineering.  

The public is welcome to attend the events. For a complete schedule or to sign up for a volunteer position, visit weber.edu/first.

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