On April 15-18th, the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (RECF- www.roboticseducation.org ) is bringing the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship to the Kentucky Expo Center. TALK supports the work of this event and its core organization. This is the largest event of its kind in the world, and will bring as many as 15,000 – 20,000 visitors to Louisville from across the nation and around the world. While it looks like a competition with robots, it is really a life- changing experience that engages and inspires the next generation of engineers, technicians, innovators and leaders. In addition, it is a chance for Louisville area students to see an opportunity that they, too, can participate in. The VEX Robotics World Championship is a high-tech, high-energy STEM celebration where students from elementary school through college and university put Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) concepts into action on the arena floor, taking what they learned in the classroom and applying it to real world concepts under competitive conditions. As Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer stated, this event is “more important than the Superbowl … more important even than the Final Four.”
As you know, priming and preparing today’s youth (tomorrow’s workforce) for the technologically advanced workplace of the future and providing them with 21st Century life and technology skills is a key challenge.
BACKGROUND ABOUT REC Foundation
The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this goal.
The REC Foundation’s vision is to change the world by inspiring young people in all communities to pursue degrees and careers in STEM fields and it does so by providing youth access to a pipe line of high-quality innovative project-based learning programs: VEX IQ (8-14 year olds), VEX Robotics Competition (11-18 year olds) and VEX U (college/university) . Both VEX IQ and VEX Robotics Competition offer both classroom and after school competitions and curriculum options.
See VEX Robotics in action:
2013 VEX World Championship – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLA5AsYsceY
Promote Award – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LrZlt3mVZ0
Educational Video Award – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX1gI7YkeqQ
For more information: Pattie Cook, Development & Regional Support Manager, Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, Inspiring students one robot at a time, Pattie_Cook@roboticseducation.org, www.roboticseducation.org, www.robotevents.com, 804-784-4898 (office), 804-564-8906 (cell), www.twitter.com/REC_Foundation