VEX Robotics and FIRST Robotics are the nation's two leading robotics competitions that students at all grade levels can compete in. Each year, both introduce new challenges that require students to collaborate, design their robot and compete together.

Beyond the robot battles, these competitions can have a lasting impact on the children and teens who participate in them.

"When competing, yes, you have design, you have programming, you have CAD [computer-aided design], which, going to the competition itself, brings out the other side of engineering that you can't learn in a classroom. It brings out the real-life, quick-on-your-feet problem solving," says NASA engineer Christopher Morris.

In both FIRST and VEX programs, students must design and build a robot that is capable of completing

See Full Page