Thirty-seven high school robotics teams from across North Carolina will compete for bragging rights at the 2018 FIRST Power Up competition on March 17-18.

The event will be held inside the Jones Center on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. It is free and open to the public.

Robeson Early College High School’s team, ROBCOBOT, led by Coach Keenan Locklear, will be among the competitors.

Robots will be playing a retro-style arcade game in three dimensions as they stack crates to gain control of switches and scales. The goal is to successfully hang three robots from an 18-inch wide bar.

Opening ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Competition will continue through Sunday. Event organizers expect more than 2,400 students and spectators.

The competition is sponsored by FIRST North Carolina, a nonprofit organization created to inspire youth to pursue careers in science and technology and to help them acquire the skills to compete in a technologically-driven economy.

For more information, visit firstnorthcarolina.org.