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Robots: Building Teens' Interest

Newsweek
March 28 issue –

Science and engineering may not seem cool, but RadioShack is out to change that. In April, the store will launch the Vex Robotics Design System, which includes a 500-piece starter kit (for $299) that allows buyers to design and construct radio-controlled robots that can lift and throw objects, and even move about the room.

And if RadioShack has its way , that room will be a classroom. "Vex is really built for high-school students," says marketing manager Sam Mahserjian, adding that Carnegie Mellon University helped develop a curriculum that teachers can use to incorporate 'bot building in their classes.

Vex has also teamed up with FIRST, a nonprofit organization that promotes

the sciences, to sponsor a robot-building competition in April; 20,000 students are expected to compete. Why the push? There's been a decline in U.S. students majoring in science and engineering, despite the fact that those jobs are increasing. " Mainstream interest can only help us inspire a new generation of engineers," says Mahserjian.

—Peter Suciu

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