Five Hawai'i high school robotics teams will compete with schools from across the country at various regional competitions on the Mainland over the next two weeks.

The five teams – four from O'ahu (McKinley, Waialua, Punahou and Sacred Hearts Academy) and one from the Big Island (Waiakea) – will compete in six different regional challenges on the Mainland as part of the FIRST Robotics Competition, in what is called the "varsity sport of the mind." The traveling teams include more than 50 Hawai'i students, as well as teachers, parents and chaperones.

"Hawai'i students have been working intensely for months to prepare for these important competitions," Gov. Linda Lingle said. "From building the robot to coming together as a team, they are embracing their future and the future success of our entire state.

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common engineering problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules. Using their academic skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as innovation, ingenuity, teamwork and communication, the teams build robots from the parts and enter them in competitions designed by FIRST founder Dean Kamen and a committee of engineers and other professionals.

The traveling Hawai'i teams and dates of the regional competitions are:

• Last Thursday through Saturday: McKinley High School to compete at Portland, Ore. Regional

• March 6 through March 8: Waialua High School to compete at Richmond, Va. Regional

• March 13 through March 15:

Waialua High School to compete at Annapolis, Md. Regional

Waiakea High School to compete in San Jose, Calif. Regional

Punahou to compete in San Jose, Calif. Regional

Sacred Hearts Academy to compete in Milwaukee, Wis. Regional

Hawai'i will host the inaugural FIRST in Hawai'i Regional Robotics Competition on March 27-29 at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawai'i at Manoa campus. It will feature 37 teams, representing 25 Hawai'i schools from O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island, as well as 12 teams from the Mainland. The public is invited to attend at no charge for admission.

For additional information as well as video footage of the 2007 robotics challenge, visit the FIRST in Hawai'i Regional Robotics Competition Web site at robotics.hawaii.gov or the FIRST Web site at www.usfirst.org.