ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The FIRST Robotics Finger Lakes Regional Competition continued Saturday. Over the weekend, the Rochester Institute of Technology hosted about 55 high school robotics teams hailing from all over. Teams came from the the U.S., Canada, and even Taiwan.

Janice Martino is the organizer for the event, and the Regional Director for FIRST NY. She say the goal is to brainstorm alternative energy resources, and work through challenges as they build their bots!

They also want to prepare students for future careers in stem.

“Calculus might not be for everyone, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be an electrical engineer,” Martino said. “Because once they get their hands in there and they experience it first hand, they realize that they can do it! It’s not always about sitting in a classroom, and that’s what this does for these kids.”

Saturday was the last day of the event, but winners from this competition will travel to the World Championships in Houston next month. Congratulations to all of those who competed!