Create a droid design and it may come to life in an upcoming story set in the Star Wars galaxy; a look back at the life of Woodie Flowers
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Looking back at the life of Woodie Flowers

Both The New York Times and The Boston Globe published powerful articles reflecting on the life and impact of Woodie Flowers. “The things Woodie valued the most, he made sure to give back to the world,” FIRST® Founder Dean Kamen told The Boston Globe.

Enter the Star Wars: Force for Change “Build My Droid” contest for a chance to see your creation come to life

If you’ve ever dreamed of designing your own Star Wars droid, now’s your chance. In the “Build My Droid” contest launched by Star Wars: Force for Change, fans and artists ages 16+ have the chance to design a droid that will be included in a future story set in the Star Wars galaxy. A panel of judges for the contest – including Dean Kamen – will review the final submissions, and the winning design will be brought to life by Lucasfilm’s animatronics and creatures department. The winning designer will also be invited to the world premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in December to witness the public debut of their droid design on the red carpet. Submit your droid design in the form of a sketch, drawing, or painting by November 13, 2019.

*NO PURCH NEC. 16+ in 50 US & DC, Canada (ex Quebec), Mexico, GB, Spain, France, Belgium, Japan. Ends 23:59:59 Pacific Standard Time Nov 13, 2019 (08:59:59 Paris Time Nov 14). Prize requires travel to US in Dec 2019. Max 1 entry per person. Rules/T&Cs: www.starwars.com/BuildMyDroidContest. Void in Quebec & where prohibited. Sponsor: ABC, Inc. d/b/a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, USA

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Changing STEM education in Afghanistan

In an op-ed for The New York Times, serial entrepreneur and FIRST Mentor Roya Mahboob shares how Afghanistan’s first all-girls robotics team, The Afghan Dreamers, continues to bring STEM education to young people in Afghanistan.

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FIRST alum builds solar car

FIRST alum and CNN Young Wonder Tina Li and her teammates from Stanford University designed and built a solar-powered car that qualified for the prestigious World Solar Challenge race across the Australian Outback. From Australia, Li answered questions about what she and her teammates learned from spending the past several months designing, engineering, building, testing, and transporting a solar car – and how the challenge built on her FIRST experience.

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Collins Aerospace Systems expands its support of FIRST

As part of its new “Redefining Futures” Corporate Social Responsibility program, Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp., has committed $3.6 million over three years to FIRST – a 20 percent increase in its investment from previous years.

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Episode 4 of Galactic Builders now available: Bringing droids to life through motion capture

In Episode 4 of Galactic Builders, students from FIRST® Robotics Competition Team “The Funky Monkeys” (San Jose, CA) get a behind-the-scenes tour of Industrial Light & Magic and learn how droids from the Star Wars galaxy, like K-2SO, are brought to life through visual effects tools and technologies like motion capture.

Galactic-Builders-Episode-4

 

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OUR VISION: “...to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.”
— Dean Kamen, Founder