Exciting Robotics Competition is Free of Charge and Open to the Public
ANAHEIM, Calif., April 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than 10,000 of the world's brightest middle school, high school and university students, educators and mentors from nearly 20 countries, will compete in the 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship. The event is free to the public and will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center on April 19-21, 2012.
Northrop Grumman Foundation is a first-time sponsor of the program, and Northrop Grumman employee volunteers are donating time and expertise onsite during the competition.
The VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation, is in its fifth year appeals to today's intensely competitive generation of students. The competition represents the perfect storm of applied physics, mathematics, computer programming, digital prototyping, integrated problem solving, teamwork and leadership.
The 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship serves as the final competition of the season. This year, 600 out of the nearly 5,000 VEX Robotics Competition teams from around the world earned the right to bring their robotic creations to face off in the robot ring with their toughest competitors playing the 2011-2012 season game VEX Gateway.
"The Northrop Grumman Foundation is pleased to sponsor the VEX Robotics Competition. This exciting competition continues to inspire, motivate and prepare kids for a future in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and prepare them for related professions," said Sandra Evers-Manly, president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. "We are committed to helping prepare students to become the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians—and the talented innovators entering the workforce of tomorrow.
"We are also proud to have dedicated Northrop Grumman colleagues participating in this year's VEX Robotics Competition as volunteers, assisting thousands of students from around the country," said Evers-Manly.
Attending teams qualified for the tournament after dedicating countless hours designing, building, programming and honing their strategy skills to outperform others throughout the year at more than 300 local, regional and national VEX Robotics Competition events. The teams build their customized robots using the VEX Robotics Design System to compete against the best of the best playing Gateway, a game that takes place on a 12'x12' square field where two alliances composed of two teams each compete against one another.