General Info

Congratulations on advancing to the Northern California VIQRC Elementary School Regional Championship!

The Venue

We’re excited to host the IQ Championships at MOSAC – the SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity in Sacramento! This inspiring setting brings science and innovation to life, creating the perfect backdrop for high-level robotics competition. Between matches, teams can recharge and explore interactive exhibits or take in a planetarium show, keeping the energy and creativity flowing all day. Families and visitors can also enjoy hands-on exhibits, STEM activities, and planetarium shows while experiencing the excitement of live robotics up close.

Our goal is to provide a high-quality and fun event for teams, coaches and spectators. Our venue will be open on Friday evening for optional check-in, inspection and initial skills runs, followed by a full day of competition on Saturday!

Travel and Food Options

We plan to have on-site concessions and/or food trucks.  There are also local options near by
Public Parking (small daily fee) is available at the venue.

Discounted Hotel Rates! 

Placer Robotics has secured a discounted rate at Courtyard by Marriott Sacramento Airport Natomas - 2101 River Plaza Dr, Sacramento, CA 95833. The hotel is 1.8 miles from the event venue (SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity).

Rates: 113.00 USD - 120.00 USD per night. Last Day to Book : Monday, February 16, 2026

Bookings have to be made directly:  Room Reservation Link

Engineering Notebooks/Interviews

Digital Engineering Notebook Submissions/In Person Team Interviews: Team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link found within the "My Account" panel of the team contact on RobotEvents. Please have your electronic notebook link published by Friday, February 20, 2026 at 11pm. 

If you qualify for this event, please be sure to register within two weeks of receiveing your invitation. This event is a World Championship Qualifying event and will receive spots according to the REC Foundation's Qualifying Criteria.

About Placer Robotics

Placer Robotics is an all volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth through hands-on STEM education and competitive robotics in Placer County/Greater Sacramentio. Since 2018, we’ve supported thousands of students across Northern California through programs spanning VIQRC, V5 Robotics Competition, and Combat Robotics. Our mission is to provide accessible opportunities for every student to learn, lead, and innovate — building the next generation of engineers, creators, and community leaders.

Qualifying to this Event

There are three ways for teams to qualify to Championship events: 

• Qualifying Award: Winning a qualifying award at an official event in the team’s Event Region. 
• Robot Skills Ranking: If the Championship event in the team’s region is not filled to capacity through qualifying awards, teams may qualify through the World Skills Standings sorted for the Event Region and by grade level. Teams invited through Robot Skills Challenge Rankings are invited in ranked order after the results of the last qualifying event in the region have been posted. Scores earned after this date will not be used to qualify teams to their Championship. 
• Waitlist: If there is remaining capacity due to teams not accepting the invite after the Robot Skills Rankings invites have been issued, the capacity will either be lowered, and the event will be closed, or teams will be invited from the waitlist. This will be decided by the REC Foundation Manager.

Grade Level: Elementary

Skills Challenge Offered: Yes

Judging Format: Remote Engineering Notebooks