As strategic alliance partners of FIRST , the International Society of Automation and its umbrella organization, the Automation Federation, took part in the FIRST Championship, an annual international celebration of young people's interest and participation in science and technology. More than 18,000 students from around the globe, ages 6 to 18, gathered in April at the America's Center Convention Complex and the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri to put their engineering skills and scientific know-how to the test.