ST. PAUL — Students from across Minnesota gathered at the Minnesota Capitol on March 31 to showcase their robotics skills and promote education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — or STEM — through FIRST Robotics.
Teams from the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota demonstrated their robots as part of an effort to highlight the impact of hands-on engineering programs in schools. Established in 1992, the competition program has grown into a global event for youth.
Derek Prusiner, an engineer at Medtronic and a volunteer with FIRST Robotics, said the goal of the event is to build support for robotics programs and encourage continued investment in STEM education.
He said participation in FIRST helps students develop technical skills while also building leadership and teamwork experience, as the program continues to grow across the state.
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
