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RALEIGH — Thousands of students are starting six weeks of innovation and hard work for the FIRST Robotics Competition.
 
On Saturday, Robotics took center stage at Dorton Arena in Raleigh.
• First, students watch a simulcast which gives them instruction on this year's event.
• Next, the students must build a robot that places inflatable shapes creating FIRST's logo on a vertical tree.
• Then the engineers must deploy a mini robot to climb up one of four vertical posts.

After instructions, rookie teams get boxes filled with parts and participate in a "quick build" of the chassis and electronics board.

"I think this will be a good learning experience, good team cooperation and stuff like that, and hopefully it will allow me to get a scholarship somewhere," said Weslyn Maloney, student at Southern School of Engineering in Durham.

Instructors said the skills students learn will help them much past the competition.

"When they get to do a hands on project where there's no grades, it either works or it doesn't. It's very tangible. It's very concrete. They go back to their classroom and they say well, now I understand why I need to learn this math, why I need to learn these physics," said Marie Hopper, regional director.

The top three winners at the regional competition in April will move on to the championships in Saint Louis.