100+ teams to compete in robotics challenge
From left: Wence López, president of PRIOR, Astronaut Joseph Acaba and a student with his robot discuss this weekend’s competiton Tuesday.
More than 100 teams of qualifying local elementary to high school students will compete in this year’s Latin American Robotics Competition, taking place Feb. 8-10 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center and the Pedrín Zorrilla Coliseum in San Juan, organizers from the Puerto Rico Robotics Institute announced Tuesday.
PRIOR, a nonprofit organization affiliated with NASA, sponsors the annual competition aimed at inspiring students to finish school and go on to pursue science, technology, engineering and math-related careers to improve Puerto Rico’s standing in those fields.
This year’s competition is dedicated to astronaut Joseph Acaba, who is of Puerto Rican decent and is on the island this week to represent NASA’s support of the event.
“Joe Acaba has always collaborated with PRIOR and supported us in our mission to inspire students to stay in school and achieve lofty goals through their studies,” said Wence López, president of PRIOR. “Joe is a great example for students and inspires many of them, thus supporting our mission. In our programs, students learn while having fun, and what’s learned that way is never forgotten.”
Students from all over the island have been training and competing since the summer, preparing for the final competition. Winners will become part of the Puerto Rican delegation that will compete in the World Robotics challenge in April in Anaheim, CA.
This weekend’s events are free and open to the general public. For more information, visit http://www.goprior.com.
