FIRST Robotics/Gearing Up
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The participation is incredible: more than 200,000 students from across the country, locked in heated competition, working to build more 17,000 robots. With more than $11 million in university scholarships up for grabs, the stakes are high. Welcome to the world of FIRST Robotics.
The annual competitions are designed to challenge outstanding students to create innovative robots capable of accomplishing a variety of tasks. Each team receives an identical kit, all missing one important competent: the instructions. The competition is stiff, and the teams take winning very seriously. But the goal is to provide a learning opportunity, to make science and technology fun and engaging.
The vision of FIRST Robotics is, as founder Dean Kamen explains:
To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.
Kamen, best known as the inventor of the Segway, has spent his life using science and technology to solve problems from insulin transmission to water purification. He has been an outspoken advocate of science, famously saying that we "have teenagers thinking they're going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is."
FIRST Robotics provides a tangible demonstration of that power. Now, a new documentary, Gearing Up takes viewers inside the action and the drama of this exciting competition, dubbed "the varsity sport of the mind."
Find a place to watch Gearing Up near you.
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