NASA Marshall to Host FIRST Robotics Kick-Off Event Jan. 6 at U.S. Space & Rocket Center; Media Invited

	January 04, 2018  MEDIA ADVISORY 18-001 NASA Marshall to Host FIRST Robotics Kick-Off Event Jan. 6 at U.S. Space & Rocket Center; Media Invited   The 2018 FIRST Robotics Kick-Off event will be Jan. 6 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Credits: NASA/MSFC/Christopher Blair More than 400 area students are expected to attend the 2018 FIRST Robotics Kick-Off event Jan. 6, from 9-11 a.m., at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The event, to be held in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, is hosted by the Rocket Center, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. FIRST Robotics is a national robotic competition for students in grades 9-12. With 24 teams from Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky registered, this is expected to be the largest group in this history of the Huntsville kick-off event. Local teams include the Rockets of Athens High School; Redstone Robotics of Lee and New Century High Schools in Huntsville; Dragon Slayers of Arab High School; Falcon Engineering of Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, Tennessee; Mad Rockers of Bob Jones and James Clemens High Schools in Madison; Twisted Gears of East Limestone High School in Athens; Grissom Robotics of Grissom High School in Huntsville; Cyber Jagzz of Huntsville High School; and Rad Robotics, comprised of Madison city homeschooled students. A pair of competitively awarded NASA Marshall house teams -- Mech Tech, of A.P. Brewer High School in Sommerville; and the Golden Hurricanes of Columbia High School in Huntsville -- will also be returning to the competition. Each year, the FIRST Robotics game is changed, adding new levels of complexity to challenge students. Once teams learn of the requirements for this year’s game, they will pick up a “Kit of Parts” and have six weeks to build, design and test a functioning robot. If successful, they can compete in district and regional competitions throughout the nation in March and April to qualify for the national championship(s), which will be held in Houston April 18-21 and/or Detroit April 25-28. FIRST, which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," is a national organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen in Manchester, New Hampshire, to inspire young people to pursue careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math. NASA and its Robotics Alliance Project provide grants for high school teams and support for FIRST Robotics competitions around the country to address the critical national shortage in these fields. This educational event is a collaborative effort between Marshall, the Rocket Center and the National Space Club of Huntsville. News media interested in covering the event should contact Pat Ammons at the Space & Rocket Center at 245-721-5429; or Angela Storey of the Marshall Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication at 256-544-0034 no later than 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5 For more information about FIRST programs and competitions, visit:        http://www.firstinspires.org/ For more information about the Marshall Space Flight Center, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall For more information about the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, visit: http://rocketcenter.com/
	Press Contacts Pat Ammons U.S. Space & Rocket Center 256-721-5429 pat.ammons@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Angela Storey Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 angela.d.storey@xxxxxxxx
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