Kingman High School’s Bionic Bulldogs robotics team just landed a sweet score from The Chrysler Foundation after receiving $5,000 to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge.
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Imagine an event that combines frisbee chucking robots and learning about mechanics and engineering and you have the FIRST events. Sounds pretty epic, right?
The Bionic Bulldogs were one of the teams that received the maximum $5,000 grant from the Foundation. Teams will compete to advance to the 2015 FIRST Championship, which pits some of the brightest young STEM students against each other.
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“The Chrysler Foundation is proud to play a role in helping students discover the rewards and excitement of education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Jody Trapasso, senior vice president of external affairs for Chrysler Group and president of The Chrysler Foundation. “We are equally proud of our employees who generously give their time and skills to help mentor students and serve as competition coordinators.”
The original FIRST Championship was held at the Epcot at Disney World in 1995 and has grown to include hundreds of teams across the country. The 2015 Championship will be held in St. Louis, Missouri.
“Chrysler Group’s ability to compete and succeed in the future depends in part upon our ability to maintain the pipeline of students that pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers,” said John Nigro, head of NAFTA product development for Chrysler. “The real-world experience that students gain through their participation in FIRST is invaluable in preparing students for the future.”
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The Arizona circuit of FIRST competitions leading up to the championship are currently underway, with the AZ FIRST Tech Challenge starting a few months ago and the Robotics Competition set to kick off in January.
If you want to get involve with FIRST in AZ, check out the upcoming schedules for the Tech Challenge and Robotics Competition. Make sure to keep these bright STEM stars on your radar!