MOSES LAKE - Teams from Moses Lake and Warden will be among the participants at the state semifinal robotics competition, scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 15 at Chief Moses Middle School, 1111 Nelson Road.

The competition is open to the public, with participants demonstrating their robots about noon, said Kat Stebbins, coach of the RoboNerdz, Moses Lake. The RoboNerdz will be one of three Moses Lake teams in the competition. The RoboSparx and RoboStormz also qualified, along with Ductape Overload from Warden Middle School.

First Lego League competition is designed for kids nine to 14 years of age, according to the organization's website. Each year the statewide organization issues a challenge to the roboteers, and the competition is built around that challenge.

This year competitors were challenged to come up with solutions to a natural disaster, Stebbins said. Each team must present information on coping with a natural disaster, she said, and be prepared to answer questions about their research.

All robots are designed and built by the participants from a kit, and the kids must answer questions from the judges about their bots, Stebbins said. The roboteers must explain the engineering principles behind their choices, what worked and what didn't.

The third exercise issues a timed challenge to all teams; the "core values" test determines how each team uses teamwork and cooperation, and if they remain professional under pressure.

Then the robots run. "Most people don't realize our robots are autonomous, no remote control," Stebbins said. The kids program the robots to complete tasks, and the bot has two and half minutes to run the course.

Organizers also are looking for volunteers to help with the competition setup Friday and the competition Saturday, Stebbins said. Volunteers can sign up at www.firstwa.org.