What: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will cohost “Robots to Rocket City” with the U.S. Space & Rocket Center on Sunday, Feb. 23. At this event, area high school teams will demonstrate the robots they built to compete in upcoming competitions of FIRST — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology.
NASA, through its Robotics Alliance Project, provides grants for high school teams and support for FIRST Robotics competitions around the country to address the critical national shortage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — or STEM fields.
The event is open to the public. On Feb. 23, the Space & Rocket Center is offering a special admission price of $11 per person to those who mention “Robots to Rocket City.” The ticket covers “Robots to Rocket City” and full museum admission, including simulators and the current feature exhibition, “Da Vinci: The Genius.” Visitors will be able to try various robotics activities included in the center’s new Space Camp Robotics Program. Demonstrations will include Lego NXT Programming and Engineering workshops, U.S. Navy Sea Perch underwater robotics, the Space Camp Robotics Challenge table and Kinect-controlled Robot Soccer.
FIRST is a national organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen in Manchester, N.H., to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and technical fields.
Who: Students from more than half-a-dozen area high school FIRST Robotics teams will discuss and demonstrate their robots, including two NASA-sponsored “house teams”: The Mad Rockers of Bob Jones and James Clemens High Schools in Madison; and Morgan County Mech Tech, comprised of Morgan County schools, including A.P. Brewer High School in Somerville. Also expected are students from schools involved in different robotics programs and grade levels, including the FIRST Lego League and a team from Madison County Schools’ Central Elementary School participating in the VEX Robotics Competition.
When: Robots to Rocket City teams will begin demonstrations at 1 p.m., Feb. 23., beneath the Saturn V rocket on display in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.
Where: U.S. Space & Rocket Center, One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, Ala.
To attend: News media interested in covering the event should contact Tim Hall at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at 256-701-0916, or Angela Storey of the Marshall Public & Employee Communications Office at 256-714-4370 no later than 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21.
More information about FIRST programs and competitions is available at: http://www.usfirst.org
More information about the Marshall Space Flight Center is available at: www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall
More information about the U.S. Space & Rocket Center is available at: http://rocketcenter.com
