Here's something to cheer for in April: a show of mind over matter by Hawai'i students who excel in one of the promising fields in technology.

Students from four Isle schools will compete April 16-18 in the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Atlanta, along with the top scorers from 40 other regional competitions held in recent weeks. The teams, representing McKinley, Maui, Moanalua and Waialua high schools, qualified in the Hawai'i regional, emerging from a field of about 1,000 young and determined contenders.

FIRST is an acronym spelled out by the organizer's full name: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The robotics challenge for the high schoolers gives focus to their capacity for creativity and inventiveness, in a fun-to-watch exhibition. And those qualities, as well as competence in the practical applications of science, must be applauded and nurtured in children if this country is to recapture its position as a technology leader.

The slogan on the FIRST home page pledges "to create a world where science and technology are celebrated... where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes." It's thrilling to see Hawai'i's young heroes joining the front ranks of this renewed drive toward that dream.