Rick Snyder
Gov. Rick Snyder will visit Kettering University to celebrate the grand opening of the FIRST Community Center.
(File Photo)
FLINT, MI – Gov. Rick Snyder will be in Flint Friday to help celebrate the new FIRST Community Center at Kettering University.
Snyder will join Kettering President Robert McMahan, President of FIRST Robotics Don Bossi, Flint Mayor Dayne Walling and Jennifer Liversedge of the C.S. Mott Foundation, among others, to unveil the new center, which is the first of its kind in the country.
Snyder was also in Flint Sept. 12 for a fundraiser at the Flint Farmers' Market, where a group of protesters gathered.
The grand opening for the Kettering center, which will house eight high school robotics teams, is set for 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 with a short program.
Some of the high school teams include Metal Muscle, a Kettering-sponsored team comprised of home school kids and students from high schools in Genesee and Oakland counties; Flint F.I.R.E., a Flint Community Schools team that lost its build space when Flint Northern closed, and Flint Powers Catholic's team.
An old gymnasium at Kettering that sat vacant was transformed into the FIRST Center. A machine shop will be created next to the center for high school teams to use.
In the new center, the teams can build their robots, have practice space, collaborate with other teams and have college professors and students nearby to help mentor them.
It's the first of its kind for the fact that it's a center integrated into a college campus.
"It's huge. It is huge. This is the only facility that we are aware of, of this kind, in the country," said Kettering University President Robert McMahan in a previous interview. "This is an opportunity for students to engage in robotics year-round and be on the college campus. ... High School students will have access to our students to our faculty and will learn in the college environment."
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology, according to the FIRST website. It's a mentor-based program that builds science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
In the future, the roughly 9,600-square-foot gym at Kettering will see a second phase of renovations, which will allow for a second floor with a conference area and space for eight more teams and will overlook the gym space.
In the future, there will also be an extra wing of rooms that will be dedicated to elementary and middle school students who are involved in FIRST programs.