For six weeks, more than 4,000 high school students from Oregon and Washington have been building robots that can complete trash pickup and recycling tasks for this year’s FIRST Robotics challenge theme – Recycle RushSM.

This weekend, 32 of the 152 teams across the PNW District will meet to put those robots to the test. The FIRST Robotics Competition at Auburn Mountainview High School will kick off a six-week competition season across Oregon and Washington.

Only 45 percent of Washington residents believe that public schools are doing a good job educating students in science, technology, engineering and math, according to a recent poll commissioned by the nonprofit group Washington STEM. But FIRST Robotics – a sport of science, technology and teamwork – is igniting the interest of students from all backgrounds and giving them the opportunity to work under the guidance of engineering and business mentors who volunteer their time and talents to teach valuable engineering, project management and entrepreneurship skills.

Every year since 2008, Washington FIRST Robotics has seen double-digit growth in enrollment across the four programs they run, sparking the excitement of STEM in kids, ages 6-18. Overall, more than 11,000 Washington youth are involved in this program. And with the launch of the Girl’s FIRST Initiative in June, there has been an increase in girls’ participation as well. About 30 percent of students involved in the Washington FIRST Robotics Competition are female, which is slightly higher than the national average of 28 percent.

Teams have worked with limited resources and under strict rules to design, build and test their robots in just six weeks. During the competition, they develop alliances with other teams and compete on a field. There are a total of 152 teams competing in this season’s Pacific Northwest FIRST Robotics Competition. The top 64 teams from Washington and Oregon will advance to the Pacific Northwest Championship at EWU in Cheney on April 2.

Students involved in FIRST are eligible for 900 individual scholarship opportunities with a total value of more than $25 million. Affiliated with U.S. FIRST, Washington FIRST Robotics designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, teamwork, and life skills.