The third annual National Robotics Week starts next week, running April 7-15, 2012. A number of events will be happening nationwide including FIRST Robotics competitions, robot block parties, and robot workshops. For a full list of events see the following link: http://nationalroboticsweek.org/events

The purpose of National Robotics Week is to:

• Celebrate the US as a leader in robotics technology development
• Educate the public about how robotics technology impacts society, both now and in the future
• Advocate for increased funding for robotics technology research and development
• Inspire students of all ages to pursue careers in robotics and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-related fields

The official mascot of National Robotics Week is Bleeker: The Rechargeable Dog. Check out some of his comics here: http://nationalroboticsweek.org/bleeker

National Robotics Week is organized by an Advisory Council, founded by iRobot Corp. and The Technology Collaborative, a Pittsburgh-based non-profit economic development organization. They are joined by Adept Technology; the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI); AUVSI Foundation; Botball (KISS Institute for Practical Robotics); Carnegie Mellon University; Carnegie Science Center of Pittsburgh; FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology); Infamous Robotics; Innovation First International; Instructables; Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council; Museum of Science, Boston; Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago; RoboGames; Robotic Industries Association (RIA); The Tech Museum in Silicon Valley; Stanford University; University of Massachusetts Lowell; and other leading companies, universities, museums and organizations across the U.S (see Partners).

http://www.nationalroboticsweek.org/