Missouri
Family Arena Goes Robotic And Here Are The Results
By Lisa Bedian
Mar 3, 2008 - 8:37:52 PM

Eight St. Louis Metro Schools Finish in Top 25 at Annual Robotics Competition

An alliance of three robotic teams including students from Michigan and Texas has captured the seventh annual St. Louis Regional of the F.I.R.S.T. robotics competition.  The winning alliance included the “Robowranglers” from Greenville , Texas , the “Thunderchickens” from Utica , Michigan and the “Rat Pack” from Ann Arbor , Michigan and they will advance to the FIRST Robotics finals next month in Atlanta , Georgia .

“The Lightning Lancers,” the Engineering and Technology for Lutheran Youth from the metro St. Louis region, finished in the second place alliance of three teams.  The “Technokats” from Kokomo, Indiana and the “Juggernauts” from Oakland Schools Technical Campus in Michigan rounded out the alliance finalists.

High school students from 30 St. Louis area schools and 12 states participated in the competition held this weekend at the Family Arena in St. Charles .  The weekend events and competitive evaluations resulted in eight Bi-State teams finishing in the top 25 in the robotics competition.  A total of 45 teams and their engineering and technical mentors demonstrated their skill for science, mathematics and technology.

“It was wonderful to see the thousands of spectators enjoy the exciting competition and cheer these students on,” said Dr. Chris Roman, Regional Competition Co-Chair and Director at the St. Louis Science Center .  “All of us at the Science Center are very proud to be a part of this competition that brings stimulating challenges to hundreds of students and encourages their love of science and technology.”  The Science Center is the primary educational partner for the program.

This is the seventh year for the local competition, and this weekend’s six regional winners advance to the finals in Atlanta next month along with more than 25,000 other students from across America .  This season, participating FIRST students are eligible to apply for over $9.5 million in scholarships from leading universities, colleges and companies.  Scholarship announcements will be made at the FIRST Championship in April.

Mike Gambill and Sean O’Grady were named this year’s outstanding volunteers for their efforts with FIRST.

The eight teams of students from the Bi-state region finishing the two days of competition in the top 25 included:

-           931 Perpetual Chaos-St. Louis Public Schools and Gateway Institute of Technology

-          1094 River City Robots-Channel Cats-Ft. Zumwalt School District

-          1098 The GIs-Eureka H.S., Lafayette , H.S., Marquette , H.S., and Rockwood Summit H.S.

-          1178 D.R.T.-DeSmet Jesuit H.S. & John F. Kennedy Catholic H.S.

-          1182 Patriots-Parkway South H.S.

-          1208 Metool Brigade-O’Fallon Township H.S. ( Illinois )

-          1288 RAVEN Robotics-Francis Howell School District

-          1444 The Lightning Lancers-Engineering and Technology for Lutheran Youth

-          1985 Robohawks-Hazelwood Central H.S.

-          2408 Wildbots-Hazelwood West H.S.

Four area schools earned regional awards recognition in the competition. The “Perpetual Chaos” team from the St. Louis Public Schools and Gateway Institute of Technology was recognized with a special Judges Award for their commitment to expanding the FIRST Robotics mission by creating a portable high school robotics curriculum and their consistent good performance through all the events.

The team from Engineering and Technology for Lutheran Youth (in the Metro St. Louis area) was singled out for the Judge’s Award for their perseverance through tough challenges including the loss of financial support.                                      . 

The “Metool Brigade” from O’Fallon Township H.S. in O’Fallon, Illinois earned the Team Spirit Award and “Raven Robotics” from the Francis Howell School District won the Driving Tomorrow’s Technology Award.

Lane Matheson, was honored as the 2008 St. Louis Regional Woodie Flowers Finalist award winner.  The award is given in the hopes of spotlighting the many adult mentor volunteers who give thousands of hours to work with students in the FIRST robotics competition.   Ms. Matheson is one of 41 national finalists for the annual award, which will be presented at the FIRST national championship next month in Atlanta .

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ABOUT FIRST

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester , N.H. , FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With the support of many of the world’s most well-known companies, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge for high-school students, the FIRST LEGO^® League for children 9-14 years old, and the Junior FIRST LEGO League for 6 to 9 year-olds. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org .

Saint Louis Science Cente r

The Saint Louis Science Center is one of the top five science centers in the United States , serving 1.2 million visitors annually. Recently named one of America ’s most visited museums by Forbes Traveler Magazine – the only museum in Missouri to be named to that list – the Saint Louis Science Center complex includes a four-story OMNIMAX™ Theater, the air-supported EXPLORADOME™, the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, and the state-of-the-art Taylor Community Science Resource Center. The goals of the Saint Louis Science Center are to educate, inspire and motivate visitors of all ages and engage the community in public dialogue about science-related issues of the day. For more information about the Saint Louis Science Center and its programs, visit slsc.org.