Teens Facts

Two 14-year-old boys climbed to God's Thumb - a sheer volcanic bluff on the Oregon coast - and froze 30 feet from the top. A firefighter climbed up to rescue them and got stuck too. Coast Guard lowered a crew member from a helicopter and hoisted all three off the cliff face.

Every January, thousands of high school teams open the same box: the same kit of parts, the same rules for everyone. They get six weeks to build a working robot from scratch. It started in 1992 with 28 teams in a New Hampshire gym. More than 3,700 teams compete now, mentors giving up nights and weekends in the shop. Every year, thousands of teams still finish and put a robot on the field.