Though DOTL days are the most exciting ones of the spring, I'm thrilled to be making a quick trip to NOVA to go to the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) regional this weekend. FIRST stands for For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology and they sponsor programs for children as young as 6 (they work with legos) to students in high school.
The FRC has a different theme or game each year and the teams have to build robots to score points during the games. Teams work in groups of three (called an alliance) during each "heat" as points are earned.
This year's game is called Recycle Rush. Here's the intro:
And here's a video of some teams from a different region in action:
It might look a little confusing now, but when you're at the competition, it's hard not to get totally obsessed with the game. There are 16 teams from Virginia in the regional and 13 of them are from my territory...so I might lose my voice cheering for all of my favorites!
If you're on a FIRST team, good luck at your competitions!
