37 teams (around 500 students) from the Kansas City region put their robots to the test during the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) qualifying tournament on Saturday, Jan. 24. Hosted by UMKC’s School of Computing and Engineering in partnership with the KC STEM Alliance, the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition allows students in grades 7-12 to apply real-world math and science principles while developing strategic problem-solving, organizational and team-building skills. Students use a robot kit, which is reusable from year-to-year, and is programmed using a variety of languages.
Teams of seven to 12 students design, build and program their robot to compete in a 12-by-12 foot arena. The top six teams advance to the Missouri State Championship in Rolla in March. Awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach, design and other real-world accomplishments. Winners also earned a place in the World Championship and can qualify for more than $10.4 million in college scholarships. For a picture slideshow see KCUR’s Kansas City Students Put Hand-Crafted Robots To The Test At FIRST Tech Challenge.
SCE thanks our staff (Debby Dilks, Micah Hildreth, Kyler Keith, and Whitney Molloy) and students (Mladen Kojic, Matthew Mohler, and Aaron Rush) that assisted in the organizing of this event, as well as the countless volunteers that helped to make it a success. For more information see the KC STEM Alliance article, Kansas City Students Put Hand-Crafted Robots To The Test At FIRST Tech Challenge, and the UMKC Today article, UMKC Hosts Regional Robotics Competition.
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