20 teams compete with 120-pound robots in 9th Dow Red Stick Rumble at Denham Springs High – The Advocate

Saturday's Dow Red Stick Rumble pitted 20 FIRST Robotics competition teams from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi against each other as they showed off their 120-pound robots in a bid to win the Red Stick Rumble Trophy.

The event included 14 teams from Louisiana.

FIRST is a global robotics community preparing young people for the future and the world's leading youth-serving nonprofit advancing STEM education.

The competition, sponsored by Dow Chemical, has been held annually since 2013 and has brought in thousands of students from across the South, inspiring them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and robotics. Attendees can watch the competition and tour the Red Stick Rumble pits where all the teams work to prepare and repair their robots.

Theres nothing like seeing students excited about STEM. Classroom learning is important, but students who are part of a robotics team are learning real world skills like design, manufacturing, and programming that cant be taught through a textbook or a lecture, said Michael Simmons, director of the Denham Springs High School STEM and Robotics Center.

The event is free and open to the public. Food will be sold at the Denham Springs High School Snack Bar. More information can be found at http://www.dsstem.org/rsr.

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20 teams compete with 120-pound robots in 9th Dow Red Stick Rumble at Denham Springs High - The Advocate