Image from usfirst.org.

Missouri University of Science and Technology will host hundreds of high school students making up 48 teams from Missouri and its bordering states on Saturday, March 7, for the FIRST Tech Challenge, a regional robotics championship.

The Missouri FIRST Tech Challenge championship will be held in Missouri S&T’s Student Recreation Center and adjoining Gale Bullman Building, located at 10th Street and Bishop Avenue (U.S. Highway 63).

The teams, comprised of up to 10 students between the ages of 14-18 in grades 9-12, each design, build and program robots for the tournament-style competition.

Participants in this year’s competition – titled “Cascade Effect” – will try to earn the most points possible by using their robots to collect various sized plastic balls into rolling goals and then move the goals into scoring areas.

The following schools from the area will have teams compete at the event:

Marion High School, Marion, Illinois

A home-schooled team from Troy, Illinois

Olathe Northwest High School, Olathe, Kansas, will have two teams

Fox High School, Arnold, Missouri

Camdenton R-III Schools, Camdenton, Missouri, will have two teams

A home-schooled team from Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Notre Dame Regional High School, Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Chaffee Industrial Arts, Chaffee, Missouri, will have three teams

Marquette High School, Chesterfield, Missouri, will have two teams

A neighborhood team from Ellisville, Missouri

Eureka High School, Eureka, Missouri, will have three teams

Rockwood Summit High School, Fenton, Missouri

Harrisonville High School/4-H, Harrisonville, Missouri

4-H, Holts Summit, Missouri

A community team from Kansas City, Missouri

LEARN Science & Math Club, Kansas City, Missouri

The Clockworks Neighborhood Team, Kirksville, Missouri

Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri

An independent team from Lake Saint Louis, Missouri

Leopold High School, Leopold, Missouri

Lesterville High School, Lesterville, Missouri

Pattonville High School, Maryland Heights, Missouri

Clearwater High School, Piedmont, Missouri

Raytown C-2, Raytown, Missouri

Rolla High School, Rolla, Missouri, will have three teams

A community team from Saint Paul, Missouri

Scott City High School, Scott City, Missouri, will have two teams

Glendale High School, Springfield, Missouri

Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, St. Louis

Hancock High School, St. Louis

John Burroughs School, St. Louis

Christian Brothers College High School, St. Louis

St. Joseph’s Academy, St. Louis

Ritenour High School, St. Louis

Principia School, St. Louis

STL Wizards, Wildwood, Missouri

Wright City High School, Wright City, Missouri.