Robotics Competition in Hartford

Hartford, Conn (WTNH) - America's engineers of tomorrow were all at the Connecticut Convention Center Friday for the Connecticut Regional Robotics Competition.

The 'Tech Tigers' team from Mercy High School in Middletown was there today. It's their rookie year here, and they were one of only three all-girl teams.

"I heard the announcement, and I thought that'd be a really good experience, and a fun thing to do, so I jumped aboard," said Clair Kimball from Portland.

Plus, there are nearly $15 million in scholarships available to students who participate.

The robots have to be versatile enough to compete in highly competitive games. The whole event is described as a sort of combination of NASCAR, a rock concert, the NCAA, and a science fair.

"We have six weeks to build a robot from scratch. At the end of six weeks we have to put the robot in a bag, and we can't touch it," said Christian Branzell from Wallingford.

One of the team members from Career High School in New Haven is heading towards a career as an engineer.

"I love and always used Legos and all that stuff, so I love to build stuff, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for me," said Jacob Sussman from Seymour. When asked what he thinks he might build when he becomes an engineer, Sussman responded, "I don't know, the next big thing?"

But not everyone is headed toward a career in engineering.

"I wanted to become a math teacher, and I thought robotics would actually help me, because all the different topics and subjects that we use to actually build a robot involve math and science," said Rohit Grover from New Haven.

There were 58 teams at the competition Friday, about 35 from Connecticut. The competition continues all day Saturday until 4:00pm, and admission is free.