Our thanks to all the teams, volunteers, sponsors and spectators who participated in the 2011 Chesapeake Regional FIRST Robotics Competition at the Baltimore Convention Center on March 17-19.  The event was an enormous success, with 60 teams from around the nation and more than 2,000 boisterous fans crowding the stands.

Congratulations to all the 2011 Award Winners, especially Team 836 Robobees from Leonardtown, Maryland, who went home with the Chairman’s Award, our top trophy for the team that best exemplifies the FIRST spirit.

A complete set of photos from the event are available here.  Also check out our playlist of videos from the event.  If you have additional photos or videos we should add, please let us know.

A BIG round of thanks to everyone involved in the 2011 Maryland FIRST LEGO League Championship held at UMBC on February 26!  More than 1000 kids of all ages showed up from Maryland’s top 64 FLL teams plus another 30+ JrFLL teams that held an Expo the same day. 

You can see a wonderful set of photos from the Championship at Beverly Lynn’s blog, and be sure to click on the gallery for more.  You can also see an slideshow on the WBAL-TV site.  We will shortly get our hands on more photos and videos from the event and let you know more about the winners, too.  But for now, thank you’s all around for a great event and a great Body Forward season.

Neal Bascomb’s “The New Cool” about a year in the life of a FIRST Robotics Competition team is now shipping.  You can read an excerpt of the book here. 

Listen to an interview with Neal, Amir Abu-Shaeer and Dean Kamen on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show on Thursday, 3/3, in the second hour.  We’ll post a link when it’s available, and keep an eye out for other reviews as the book gets a nationwide marketing rollout to coincide with FRC Regional Competitions around the country.

Speaking of Regionals, make your plans to attend the Chesapeake Regional at the Baltimore Convention Center on March 17-19.  We’ll have 60 teams, nearly half from Maryland, and more than 2,000 people rocking the joint.  It’ll be fun…and you never know who might show up!

In case you missed it, FIRST LEGO League was the subject of the feature article in this weekend’s Washington Post Kids’ Post section.  The article features the Fractal Fury team that meets in Bethesda and was preparing for the APL Qualifier last month.  See the sidebar article as well: Are Lego Robots For You?

Unfortunately, the team did not qualify for this Saturday’s Maryland FLL Championship at UMBC, but we are very grateful for their participation in FLL this season and for being part of the article.  We’re delighted they are eager to come back next season.  Can’t beat the final quote, “It’s just really fun.”

President Obama will be at Parkville Middle School in Baltimore along with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to announce his budget and sharpen the nation’s focus on STEM education.  See Baltimore Sun article.  Parkville Middle was chosen specifically because of its focus on science,  technology, engineering and math.

We’re proud that Parkville Middle is home to a veteran FIRST LEGO League team, the Squires of Engineering.  We hope the students will get a chance to meet the President and other dignitaries.  Watch for more details as they develop…

NY1 video report on FIRST Kickoff

Time Warner’s NY1 station does a good 2-minute report on the FIRST Kickoff event at Manchester, NH on Jan. 8.

The usfirst.org homepage got a facelift today.  Check it out, along with the new will.i.am video from the FIRST Kickoff for this FRC season. 

will.i.am and FIRST

Think will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas might work some robots into the Super Bowl halftime?

This past Saturday’s JrFLL Expo at Goucher College was a great success. We saw some delightful and thoughful presentations on Body Forward themes, including ambulances, wheelchairs, hospitals, dentist offices and X-ray machines. 

Our thanks to all 11 teams that participated and most especially to the Cowles family for organizing and running the event.  It was a very fine day for all involved, and a testament to the idea that JrFLL teams can host their own Expos — even without having seen one before!  

We encourage other parents and teams to take on the challenge of hosting an Expo later this year.  We now have 80 JrFLL teams in Maryland and need intrepid volunteers willing to step up and host Expos to give every team a place to show their success.  Please see here or contact info@mdfirst.org for more information.   For teams waiting for confirmation of their participation at upcoming JrFLL Expos at UMBC on Feb. 26 and at the Chesapeake Regional on Mar. 19, we apologize that it’s taken longer than expected.  We are pleased to say that all teams that have registered so far will get into the Expo of their choice.  We will get notices out directly to teams very shortly.  The UMBC Expo is now at capacity (36 teams), so any teams that register subsequently will go on a waiting list.  There is still space available at the Chesapeake Regional JrFLL Expo to be held Saturday, March 19 at the Baltimore Convention Center.  You can register here.  All events are free and open to the public, so stop by even if you are not exhibiting.   Thank you to all Maryland JrFLL teams for your participation in this year’s Body Forward Challenge.  We hope to see you at an upcoming event!

Were you a member of a FIRST Regional Competition (FRC) team or a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team? FIRST in Maryland invites you to rejoin the FIRST community by registering as an alumnus or alumna of one of our teams. All former members ages 18 and up are welcome to join and it only takes a few minutes!

Your registration entitles you to invitations to upcoming FIRST events like the Chesapeake Regional, opportunities to reconnect with friends and other FIRST alumni, and much more.  

Registering with FIRST in Maryland also benefits current FIRST teams. Potential donors want to know how many lives have been touched by FIRST. They want to know that their gifts and now $14 million in scholarship opportunities will truly impact the lives of students and future professionals. Your success is our success. Furthermore, registering with FIRST in Maryland will alert you to volunteer, mentoring, and coaching opportunities which can come in handy if you are required to do annual community service or if you just want to give back. With four FIRST programs covering kindergarten through 12th grade, there are many such volunteer opportunities.

Get involved today!  Register with Maryland FIRST alumni.

Circle March 1, 2011 as the release date for “The New Cool”, a terrific new book by NY Times bestselling author Neal Bascomb.  The book chronicles a FIRST Robotics Competition season, focusing on Team 1717 from California during the 2008-09 Lunacy season. 

I’ve had the chance to read a pre-release version and it does a great job capturing the intensity and excitement of a FIRST season, from Kickoff to Championship.  It’s an excellent way to give folks a sense of what FIRST is all about, and it’s of special interest to alums who went through the Lunacy season.  There’s even a cameo appearance toward the end by Maryland FIRST alum Greg Needel.

You can learn more about the book, see a couple of videos and read an excerpt at Neal Bascomb’s site.  Pre-orders are also being accepted at Amazon and other retailers. It looks like the book will be getting a nationwide marketing push that will also help promote FIRST, so keep an eye out and your fingers crossed.