Hatboro-Horsham Welcomes Regional Robotics Teams in FIRST Competition Feb. 28 and March 1

HORSHAM---On Feb. 28 and March 1, Hatboro-Horsham Senior High School will host a 37 team robotics competition, featuring the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition game Recycle Rush. Teams from Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware will participate in the Hatboro-Horsham MAR District event. Hatboro Robotics will be competing against some of the best teams in the region. Top performing teams will move on to the regional championship, which will be held in the spring.

Each year, high school students participating in the competition are given a unique engineering challenge and allotted six weeks to design, fabricate, assemble and build a competition-worthy robot. The competition challenges students to think outside of the box to accomplish tasks successfully to gain points. This year the teams will compete in “Recycle Rush,” a recycling-themed game in which robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter.

“Robotics helps students sharpen their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. They learn to identify problems, think critically, and communicate,” Robotics Advisor Eric Zygmont said. “In addition, they refine their skills as team members, learning about how to work through disagreements and differences for the good of the team.”

“While we’re excited that our program expanded significantly this year, the expansion also presented us with challenges,” Zygmont said. “With 45 students on the team, the logistics of getting things done required greater effort.” He added, “This year’s game is impressive and significantly different than games in the past and presented some very interesting engineering problems.”

Amanda Piergallini of Hatboro-Horsham is this year’s Master of Ceremonies. The event is free and open to the public.

Qualification Rounds are scheduled from 11:00 A.M. through 1:00 P.M and 2:00 P.M. through 6:00 P.M. on Feb 28. On March 1, Qualification Rounds can be viewed from 9:30 A.M. through 12:30 P.M. Tournament and Elimination Rounds will be held from 2:00 P.M through 5:30 P.M. The competition will also be broadcast live via YouTube, and is accessible at www.hatboro-horsham.org/robotics

Hatboro-Horsham High School is located at 899 Horsham Road in Horsham. For more information contact Hatboro Horsham High School at 215-420-5502.