On March 31st through April 2nd, 52 high school teams will compete in the first-ever Robotics Competition at the UIC Pavilion, 525 S. Racine Ave. The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is a unique varsity sport of the mind designed to help high-school-aged students experience science and technology in a competition that feels more like the NCAA Final Four than a science fair. The competition challenges young people to work with mentors in just six weeks to design and build a robot to play a pre-defined game. This year’s robots are hi-tech “knights” battling on a medieval playing field. The competition is designed by world-famous inventor Dean Kamen, MIT professor emeritus Dr. Woodie Flowers, and a committee of creatively minded innovators. The competition kicks off at 9a.m, to 5p.m., each day. For more details please check the following link: http://www.ilfirst.org/frc/events/midwest-regional.html. Additional information can be viewed at www.usfirst.org.