Lowell High School FIRST Robotics Team Wins Inspiration Award, Heads to Bay Area Science Festival

Oct. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Lowell High School’s FIRST® Robotics Team, CardinalBotics, won the Rookie Inspiration Award at CalGames 2012, hosted by the Western Region Robotics Forum at Woodside CA, and now heads to promote STEM education at the Bay Area Science Festival’s Discovery Day in AT&T Park on November 3rd.

Thirty-six high school teams competed at the two-day CalGames 2012 competition. Teams gathered from all over the Bay Area to replay the FIRST Robotics Competition: Rebound Rumble. CardinalBotics was the only team from San Francisco, competed as a first-year rookie team. The Rookie Inspiration Award was awarded for the team’s efforts and achievements in symbolizing the mission of the Western Region Robotics Forum (WRRF). WRRF President Dr. Eugene Brooks believes experience-based learning is the key to attracting students into STEM related career fields.

The team will be exhibiting its robot and providing hands-on activities at AT&T Park as part of the annual Bay Area Science Festival. As a FIRST® Robotics Team, CardinalBotics strives to expand a variety of FIRST programs in San Francisco. The team seeks to pass on the opportunities we enjoyed to others in the community.

Founded by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was created to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. The FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that helps students discover the rewards and excitement of science, engineering, and technology. Working with mentors, students have just six weeks to design, build, and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. Once these young inventors create the robot, their teams participate in Regional competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students. The 2012 season included 2,343 teams competing in 52 Regional events; 14 District Competitions; 1 State Championship; 1 Region Championship; and the FIRST Championship. Participants are eligible to receive nearly $14 million in scholarships from some of the finest science and engineering schools in the country.

Bay Area Science Festival’s Discovery Day at AT&T Park will be on Saturday November 3rd 11AM to 4PM. The event is FREE of charge, with more than 150 exhibits of fun and excitement. Public transportation is high encouraged through MUNI, Caltrain, and BART; limited parking is provided in Lot A for $10/vehicle.

Additional Resources:

·         FIRST website (www.usfirst.org)

·         WRRF website (www.wrrf.org)

·         Bay Area Science Festival website (www.bayareascience.org )