FIRST Microsoft Seattle Regional

Visiting School Briefing

Thank you so much for visiting the Microsoft Seattle Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. This short briefing paper will help you prepare and execute a successful visit with your school. We are excited to have you attend with your students. The mission of FIRST is to inspire students to take an interest in science and technology.

What to expect

Your group will be visiting Key Arena for a robotics competition among high school students and their adult mentors. Most teams have approximately 20-30 team members with 5-6 adult mentors. There will be 64 teams at our event. The event is loud, action packed, and very exciting. The action takes place on the floor of Key Arena. The North side of the arena has a competition field (about the size of a basketball court). Adjacent to the field are the robot "Pits", where the teams work on their robots. The "Pits" are open to the public with some restrictions (see below). The area surrounding the field is restricted, and you will have to view this area from the stands.

This event is open to the general public for free. You should plan on providing enough supervision of your students to keep them safe and healthy during the event.

Who to contact

Please let us know if you are planning on bringing a group to the event. We will arrange for student tour guides who can answer questions and help faciliate a successful visit to the FIRST Robotics Competition. Our tour guides are there to answer questions and direct you where to go. We are not setup to take control of the security of your group or to take supervision of your students.

Please contact one of us! 

If you are leaving a message for either Deb or Kevin, please let us know how many total in your group, expected arrival, and expected departure times. We would also very much appreciate a mobile phone number for your group leader in the event we need to contact you during your visit.

We are happy to make space available for your visit. Depending on the size of the crowd, you may be seated in the 200 level of the arena for the best combination of view and control of your group.

When to arrive

The best day for schools will be Friday, March 26th, 2010. The arena opens at 8am. Opening ceremonies are from 8:45am until 9:15am. Qualification rounds run from 9:15am until approximately 12:30pm. Lunch is from 12:30 until 1:30. The afternoon contest will run from approx 1:30pm until 4:30pm. During the lunch period, many of the teams will be off to the Seattle Center Food court for lunch, but it is quite common for there to be a number of mechanics in the pit area working on robots.

We would suggest that you arrange to arrive at 8:30 if your students would like to see the opening ceremony. You can also elect to arrive at approximately 9:00am for a 9:15 seating. We would appreciate your NOT arriving between 8:40 and 9:00 as to not interrupt the opening ceremonies. Depending on circumstance, if you arrive between 8:40 and 9:00 we might hold your group in the mezzanine level of Key Arena until an appropriate time to enter the arena. We will work with you when to arrive to get your group into the Arena safely.

You are welcome to arrive at any time after 9:15am.

A similar schedule is available on Saturday March 27th if your group would like to attend on the weekend.

Where to arrive

The best drop off for teams will be Northbound 1st Ave N. The right hand lane is a designated bus lane. There is no on-site bus parking at Key Arena, so your bus driver will have to determine an appropriate parking venue. (In general, they are pretty good at finding parking!). When you enter the west entrance of Key Arena, you will find a checkin / information desk to your right. They will be able to assist your arrival.

When to leave

You are free leave any time between 9:30am and 5pm. There will be several visiting schools, so you need to take care not to lose any students in the process of exiting the building. It is quite possible that multiple schools will be arriving and departing at about the same times during the day.

The event usually wraps up with an awards ceremony around 5pm.

The building closes exactly at 7pm, and we are required to empty the building by 6:55 on Friday. Do NOT plan on being at Key Arena past 7pm.

Requirements and Restrictions

We highly encourage you and your students to visit the "PIT" area, where the robots are being worked on by the teams. It is fun and exciting to see the machines up close. There are some rules and restrictions.

To visit the Pit area, everyone must be wearing safety glasses. We have loaner glasses, though our supply of small glasses is limited. Large groups of small students may need to stage their visits in smaller groups.

For safety reasons, ALL visitors to the pits must be wearing closed toe shoes. Tennis shoes, leather shoes are fine. Sandals, Crocs, and Berkinstock style shoes are NOT allowed. General rule of thumb: If we can see your toes or your socks in the front, you will be denied access.

The Pit area is active with people working on robots, robots in various states of transport, and nearly 1500 participants. Safety is a primary concern for us. There are power tools and fairly large powerful robots on the floor. Therefore, children under the age of 12 MUST be escorted by an adult. For safety reasons, we do not allow baby strollers. Please be sure to obey instructions from both our volunteers and indeed the teams that you are visiting. They are all very friendly and willing to help keep your students safe.

We do not allow food to be consumed in the pit area. Please plan on having your lunch either in the stands, or you can go outside of the Arena at your leisure.

Logistics

• You may have your students bring a sack lunch. We suggest they also bring a bottled water.
• To visit the robot 'Pits', all vistors must be wearing closed toed shoes. No sandals, crocs, etc.
• The concession stands in Key Arena will NOT be open. An alternative is to visit the Seattle Center House food court.
• The event is well known for playing age appropriate music during the event. Sound sensitive people should bring earplugs.
• Our event has an EMT onsite in the pit area in the event of a medical emergency. In the event of an emergency, contact any Key Arena staff or FIRST Volunteer with a radio.
• Security for the event is provided by the Key Arena staff and the Seattle Police.
• Video taping and photography is permitted through out the venue.