Get ready to cheer on your favorite student tinkers and thinkers this weekend. On Saturday, January 7th at 2017, watch and be mesmerized as over 2,000 students from high schools across the state, Canada, Israel and Brazil converge on Stony Brook University for FIRST STEAMWORKS. In Conjunction with Stony Brook University and School-Business Partnerships of Long Island (SBPLI) The FIRST Robotics season kicks off from 9 AM – 12 PM this Saturday.
This year’s theme, FIRST STEAMWORKS, will be explained in detail to the local FIRST teams as they receive the game rules via NASA satellite transmission from FIRST headquarters in New Hampshire. Each team have the opportunity to gather and collect a kit of parts, such as motors, batteries, construction materials and control and automation components. Over the next six weeks, the student teams will use these kits to construct a 120-pound robot leading up to the FIRST Robotics Competition tournaments.
Teams will receive honors and recognition for design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship and high-impact partnerships among schools, businesses and communities.
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 support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $30 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST® LEGO® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. for Grades K-4. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org
About School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc.
School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) is a fully volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1984 by Fred Breithut with the goal of developing partnerships between local high schools and businesses. His goal was to provide students with practical experience and curriculum development, while helping the business community develop its future workforce, which resulted in the formation of over 100 partnerships. In 1999, SBPLI brought the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) to Long Island, which featured just eight FIRST Robotics Competition high school teams. Since then, the Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition has grown to over 50 teams competing each year. SBPLI also hosts Long Island’s annual FIRST LEGO League Qualifying and Championship Tournaments and the FIRST LEGO League Junior Expos, in which over 2,000 elementary and middle school students from Nassau and Suffolk Counties take part each year. In 2016, SBPLI added the FIRST Tech Challenge to its roster of programs. For more information about the programs, or to learn how to become a sponsor, visit www.sbpli-lifirst.org.