MANCHESTER, NH— Combining the very best of STEM academics with hands-on skills, Manchester Community College will again be the site for one of the most thrilling high school and middle school robotics competitions anywhere in the state. With a dance-club type vibe, hundreds of young people will show off their skills and compete with the dream of advancing to a national competition this spring.
On Saturday, February 16, Manchester Community College (MCC) will host the NH/VT State Championship VEX Robotics Competition for high school students, kicking-off a weekend of robotics events on campus. On Sunday, elementary and middle school students will compete in the VEX IQ Challenge. The top 80 teams from New Hampshire and Vermont will compete from 8am to 4pm both days.
The increasingly popular robotics program teaches the next generation of engineers and high-tech leaders how to compete using creativity, science and a spirit of competition.
“This annual competition introduces younger students to MCC and has actually become an incredible recruiting tool,” explains Dan Larochelle, Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Department Chair at MCC. “Students meet our faculty, they see our facility and they sign up. We are thrilled to be widening the pipeline of 21st century talent in STEM-related fields.”
The competition draws several corporate sponsors, who are also scouting for talent. Representatives from Hitchiner Manufacturing, Macy’s Industries, Turbocam, Superior Controls, Foundation for Innovative Schools and ESTEM will all attend the FREE event.
The VEX EVENTS feature competitive robotics programs for elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges around the world, now approaching 25,000 teams globally. Organized by the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation, the competition season culminates each spring.
The VEX Robotics World Championship, a highly anticipated event presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation and the REC Foundation, unites top qualifying teams from local, state, and international VEX Robotics events to crown World Champions. It will be held in the spring of 2019.
More information is available at https://www.mccnh.edu/robotics. For details on additional upcoming events, visit www.RobotEvents.com. For more information about the REC Foundation, go to www.RoboticsEducation.org.
