Something Unique is Headed to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga

 

Sometimes, you don't have to dig too deep to find something incredibly unique—and adorably nerdy (in a good way)—to do in Mississauga.

If you're a lover of robots or engineering (or freshly engineered robots), you might be excited to hear that the FIRST Robotics Ontario Provincial Championships is coming to the Hershey Centre.

In fact, the entire event will run from April 12-14.

At the competition, talented high school students will showcase their design and engineering skills and compete in Canada's largest high school robotics event at the FIRST Robotics Competition District Championship, an event held in partnership with the City of Mississauga.

The Hershey Centre will "host a fleet of the most advanced intelligent robots and robotics teams from across Ontario."

Anyone who wants to attend the event is welcome to do on Saturday, April 14.

The show kicks off bright and early at 8:30 a.m.  

Working under strict rules and limited resources, the teams have reportedly raised funds, designed a team brand, honed teamwork skills, and built and programmed robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors.

As for how the students get to competition stage, FIRST says the participants team up with the world's best technology companies to build some pretty impressive robots.

Built from scratch in only six weeks, the 5 foot tall, 140 pound robots compete in high intensity robo-sports.

"With bragging rights at stake for schools and the companies that support them, robotics takes on a pro-sports experience," FIRST says on its website. "Watch the best of the best in robotics come out to play."

Organizers say it's as close to real-world engineering as a student can get, and the students have benefitted from attention from volunteer professional mentors.

So, if you want to watch some pretty cool robots compete, you can do so this weekend.

For more info, click here.