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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Pat Harkins |
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Harkins welcomes Creativity in Action students to state Capitol
HARRISBURG, Feb. 26 – State Rep. Pat Harkins, D-Erie, recently welcomed Team 291 - CIA (Creativity In Action) to the state Capitol where its members were recognized on the House floor for their dedication to the field of science and engineering.
Harkins said the team is comprised of students from Erie Central High School, Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy and Villa Maria Academy, and was last year’s first-place winner at the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Philadelphia regional.
FIRST is a multinational nonprofit organization which sponsors a robotic contest. Groups compete by using math, engineering and technology to build robots in a six-week timeframe.
“Students on Team 291 are future engineers who are destined for success designing and creating technologies for the benefit of society,” Harkins said. “It was a pleasure spending time with them and learning about the lengths they go to in preparation for each competition.”
At last year’s competition, Team 291 won 10 out of 11 qualifying matches and ranked third out of 46 teams. Additionally, the team won the GM Industrial Design Award, bringing its total to five trophies for the year.
Each year, FIRST announces a game challenge on the first Saturday in January to 1,400 teams across the world. The competitions are high-tech spectator sporting events that require brainstorming, teamwork and mentoring in order to meet deadlines.
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