Community Corner
Robotics Showcase Coming to University of Tampa
ROBOCON Tampa Bay is a FIRST robotics showcase event being held on October 26-27 at the Bob Martinez Sports Center, at University of Tampa.
Admission is free to the public, and events take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
In addition to Learning is for Everyone, ROBOCON partners include Hillsborough County, which provided an Economic Development grant to help make the event possible, and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, which has helped with hotel and entertainment packages.
Everyone is invited to enjoy a full scale competition event, see a variety ofFIRST K-12 robots in various stages of construction and operation, enjoy a college and career fair, and learn more about industrial and medical robotics, and tech careers in Tampa Bay.
Special event guests include Science Cheerleader, Ashley Keegan, a former Orlando Magic Dancer who recently completed her Masters in Business Administration at the University of Central Florida, and currently works with the NASA Kennedy Space Center where, among other things, she works on Project MERCCURI, and Kelley Jones, a Design Engineer with NASA.
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams from all over Tampa Bay and Florida will showcase their skills and pit their student built robots against one another in the challenge called Ultimate Ascent , a high speed game of ultimate robot Frisbee. Teams play in alliances of three on a blue team and a red team, and score by having their robots shoot discs into a variety of low and high goals, defend against opposing robots, and even climb a ten-foot high pyramid without any direct human intervention.
Elementary and middle school FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and high school level FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams will also have their robots on hand, as well, running practice matches and working on their robots.
Guests are invited to visit the Team Pits to see team members working on theirrobots, and talk to team members, visit the ROBOCON Exhibit Hall to enjoy STEM demos, vendors and organizations, and learn more about technical, math and science career and college opportunities.
The mission of ROBOCON Tampa Bay is to increase public awareness of FIRST K-12 education programs and to provide FIRST Robotics Teams with a high-quality, post-season competitive event that provides opportunities for pre-season skill building, networking, and college and career readiness experiences.
ROBOCON also provides a fun and unique way for the general public to enjoy this “Sport for the Mind” and see and enjoy the hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics that FIRST offers.
Visit www.ROBOCONTampaBay.com to learn more.
- Ty Willingham, program director at Learning Is For Everyone
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