Mercer University hosts GeorgiaFirst Robotics competition
GeorgiaFirst Robotics is a STEM-based organization for youth across the state.
MACON, Ga. — On Saturday, high school students put their wits to the test during the GeorgiaFirst Robitics District Qualifier.
GeorgiaFirst Robotics is a STEM-based organization for youth across the state. They partnered with FIRST in South Carolina and Mercer University to host the competition at Hawkins Arena.
The Peachtree District Championship is the state championship of high school-level robotics and challenges teams of students to build robots to compete in head-to-head challenges. The top 50 teams from the Peachtree District will receive an invitation to compete against the best in the district.
At the competition on Saturday, there were 50 teams present and around 200 students. Another thousand people attended as spectators.
Event organizers describe the competition as “combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology.” They say it’s the ultimate sport for the mind, and that high-school student participants call it ‘the hardest fun you’ll ever have.’”
“Students that are here are not only learning the technical skills in engineering, but they also have skills that they’re learning through collaboration through teamwork through communication. Many of them are running social media, they learn how to run a business,” Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Dr. Kelly Holloway said.
Programs like GeorgiaFirst Robotics aim to teach technical skills in engineering, teamwork and communication.
During the competition, three teams went head-to-head with another three teams.
The robots needed to complete obstacle courses like running over big donut-like tubes and throwing them into goals. During the first 20 seconds of the match, the robots are on their own doing the competition through code, and then afterward they are remote-controlled by the students.
Organizers say people might be surprised by what it takes to get these robots up and running and the career paths it opens up for students.
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