BOISE, ID — High school students from across the Valley gathered at Boise State today for the 'FIRST Robotics' Competition, where local students compete against teams from around the world. Teens from three Nampa high schools, including Columbia, Skyview, and Nampa High are competing together on one of the teams.
The Saturday morning event was designed to teach participants the rules of the game, to foster friendships and collaborative brainstorming, and to pass out the 'kickoff kits'-- which include parts for building their robot.
"The opportunity to train them and educate them on technology careers gives them the opportunity to really create new products, new technologies, and new opportunities and new businesses that we can't even fathom," said Randy Steiner, VERN team coordinator.
Participants have 6 to 8 weeks to prepare their robots for competition, in an intense, 5-day per week commitment.
Named for the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon, this year's unique theme is "Deep Space."
