Public invited to watch robotics competition at BHS on Fri., Sat.

The Tiger Robotics Booster Organization and the Belleville High School Robotics Team 6615 — the BelleVillians — are once again hosting a FIRST Robotics District Event on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18.
Forty high school robotics teams from around the area including BHS will compete. All of the action takes place in the BHS Athletic Wing in the main and auxiliary gyms.
Opening ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday with qualifying competition to follow immediately. Competition ends around 7 p.m. on Friday and around 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
Teams and their support crews and families are planning to come to Belleville to register and set up on Thursday. There are crowds of visitors who don’t know the area who are expected in town over the weekend.
The Belleville and Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authorities (DDAs) have put together flyers for their districts mapping out places for the visitors to eat.
FIRST, the acronym for the national organization, spells out “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” Its founder Dean Kamen said, “FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn important life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect — of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own future.”
Kamen also is inventor of the Segway human transport.