Students begin constructing an electrical panel for this year’s robot during a meeting of the FIRST Robotics Team at Concord High School on Jan. 12, 2018.
Students begin constructing an electrical panel for their robot during a meeting of the FIRST Robotics Team at Concord High School on Jan. 12, 2018. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz / Monitor staff

The state championships for the annual FIRST Tech Challenge, featuring 26 teams from New Hampshire and two from Maine, will take place Saturday at NHTI in Concord.

The public is invited to watch robots built by students with help from volunteer mentors as they both cooperate and compete to score points in a special arena.

FIRST Tech is part of the FIRST Robotics ecosystem. It is similar to the main robotics competition but involves smaller, more accessible robotics and a smaller arena. It also tends to see the participation of more middle school and home-based teams. Hopkinton Middle School and Proctor Academy in Andover will each have a team in the competition.

Teams that do well can move on to the FIRST Tech World Championship later this spring.

The event, which is free and open to anyone, runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The community college is at 31 College Drive in Concord.

Jeremy Margolis is the Monitor's education reporter. He also covers the towns of Boscawen, Salisbury, and Webster, and the courts. You can contact him at jmargolis@cmonitor.com or at 603-369-3321.