ROBOTICON Tampa Bay 2019 Brings 1000 Young Roboticists to the University of South Florida Yuengling Center October 12 & 13

TAMPA, FL – Over 1000 students from around Tampa Bay and Florida will descend on the University of South Florida Yuengling Center October 12 & 13 for the 7th annual ROBOTICON Tampa Bay K-12 STEAM Showcase. This high energy, gear gnashing even is free and open to the public and showcases the power of hands-on, mentor-driven STEAM education and what youth guided by adult mentors can accomplish. The event runs from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. ROBOTICON 2019 is a Manufacturing Day event.

With support from the USF College of Engineering, Hillsborough County, Lockheed Martin, USF Connect and the Florida High Tech Corridor, USF Research and Innovation, Frontier, SOFWERX, SourceToad , Armed Forces Electronics and Communications Association, Bay Area Manufacturing Association, Women in Technology, PLuGHiTz Corp and other fine community organizations, ROBOTICON Tampa Bay provides students and guests an opportunity to enjoy a full scale FIRST Robotics Competition event featuring high school student-built robot that weigh up to 120 lbs., as well as FIRST Tech Challenge (7th to 12th grade teams) , and FIRST LEGO League (4th to 8th grade teams) scrimmages and practice games, and a FIRST LEGO League Jr. Expo for our youngest roboticists, ages 6 to 9.

This year, ROBOTICON is Star Wars themed, and students and guests will encounter R2D2, the occasional Stormtrooper, and a few other intergalactic visitors. There will also be a USF College of Engineering Expo, and an Industry Showcase, in partnership with Synapse, showcasing commercial and industrial science, technology and academic exhibits. Guests will also be able to tour Team Pits to see team members working on their robots and have a chance to talk to students, explore hands-on engineering exhibits and STEAM demos, and learn about the Tampa Bay Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics Center (AMRoC) developed by FCDI at University Mall, as well as about technical, industrial, and science career and college opportunities.

The mission of ROBOTICON is to increase public awareness of and engagement in the power of hands-on, mentor-driven youth engineering and robotics programs like FIRST, and to provide participating youth with a low stress, high-quality, competitive event with opportunities for skill-building, networking, and college and career readiness experiences. Special thanks to Florida FIRST Alumni, ROBOT League of Tampa and West Florida Robotics for FIRST program support. Individuals and organizations interested in being part of the event as sponsors, donors, or exhibitors, or wanting to secure free event tickets, are invited to visit ROBOTICON.net to learn more.