CLEVELAND (September 13, 2019) – Great Lakes Science Center is excited to launch its first ever Curiosity Open: Robotics Challenge, a tournament for area high school robotics teams!
Northeast Ohio teams have a long and successful history of competing in events like the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). On Saturday, October 26, the Science Center will welcome teams and their fans from around the region for an off-season invitational open. The Science Center’s special exhibitions hall will be transformed into a robot playing field where teams will go head to head, tournament style, to see whose robots are the best!
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology) is an international robotics competition where teams of high school students design, build and program a 120-pound robot to compete in tournaments across the country and around the world. “The core of FIRST’s mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators,” said Science Center President & CEO Kirsten Ellenbogen. “The mission, philosophy, and values of FIRST align so well with the Science Center’s initiatives to develop the confidence, creativity, and critical thinking of the youth in our community who will shape the future of Northeast Ohio and the world.”
“Destination: Deep Space” is the outer space mission themed game from this year’s FIRST program that challenges each team to coordinate a group of three robots simultaneously as they race the clock, and each other, to score as many points as possible. Science Center guests will be able to watch the competition from around the playing field and visit with the teams in the “pit” areas where teams waiting to compete will be staged with their robots.
The competition kicks off at 10 a.m. and there is no charge for the public to check out the pit areas or watch the robots in action on the playing field. (Admission to the Science Center for the day will be normal general admission prices, see GreatScience.com for more information.) For more information on the FIRST organization, or how to join or start a team, visit firstinspires.org.
(Editor’s note: The Science Center is closed for its annual maintenance period through today. The fall-winter schedule of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays resumes September 14. The Science Center will once again be closed during all Cleveland Browns daytime home games.)
About Great Lakes Science Center
Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, makes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) come alive for more than 300,000 visitors a year through hundreds of hands-on exhibits, temporary exhibitions, the Cleveland Clinic DOME Theater, Steamship William G. Mather, daily science demonstrations, seasonal camps, and more. The Science Center is funded in part by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Visit GreatScience.com for more information.
