ARLINGTON, VA – In a pre-recorded video message played today at the Maine Robotics EXPO in Augusta, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) congratulated the student participants and event organizers for their interest in and commitment to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. In his remarks, Senator King highlighted the importance of STEM education and told the students that they can change the world through ingenuity and innovation.  

“What a great day for Maine at the Augusta Civic Center. This is an amazing gathering of some of the best and the brightest from across Maine,” said Senator King. “I want you to know how important what you’re doing is – not only to have some fun – but also to see what you can do with science, technology, engineering, and math, and how you can literally move the world. I’m hoping that in this room today is the next Bill Gates or the next Steve Jobs, because the world is yours.”

The 3^rd annual Maine Robotics EXPO welcomed more than 800 students and 2,000 guests from all over the state to the Augusta Civic Center. This full-day event is meant to inspire Maine’s future workforce and foster an early interest in the STEM fields. The EXPO was organized by Maine Robotics and several other groups and companies including the Robotics Institute of Maine, the Maine App Challenge, Tyler Technologies, Project>Login, and Educate Maine.

Senator King’s video message is available here, and the full transcript is below:

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What a great day for Maine at the Augusta Civic Center. What a great day for robotics for computers for programming. This is an amazing gathering of some of the best and the brightest from across Maine. I want to thank Maine Robotics, The First Lego League, Central Maine Vex, Educate Maine, Maine First Robotics Competition, the Maine App Challenge, and Tom Bickford who put it all together. Thank you for what you’re doing, and this is going to be a fun day.

I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person. I was scheduled to be there, then the Senate said we were going to be in session all weekend, and then they said we weren’t, and because of the uncertainty, I’m stuck here in Washington. But I want you to know how important what you’re doing is – not only to have some fun but – but also to see what you can do with science, technology, engineering, and math, and how you can literally move the world. That’s what you’re learning today, from the robotic Legos, to the bigger robots, to the Rube Goldberg machine, to all the things that you have going in the Civic Center today.

This is really good stuff, and it’s important for our state and for your communities and for yourself. This is how we learn and how we take advantage of the technology that’s available. It used to be you had to live in a big city to have access to technology –  and of course now in Maine we know that all students can have that access. I’m hoping that in this room today is the next Bill Gates or the next Steve Jobs, because the world is yours. You need to stick to that education get all the knowledge that you can, but also, what you’re doing today is so important because it’s teaching you some other skills like problems solving – how to work together in groups, how to put the knowledge that you have and the education that you’ve gained to work in solving real world problems.

So, I‘m excited to be with you, if only virtually, but if there is a meeting I can visit virtually, this ought to be it, because so much of what you’re doing involves technology and science. Have a wonderful day, have some fun, get to know each other, and remember the lessons that you’re learning about solving problems and working together and about making Maine an even better place. Congratulations, have a great day.

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