Robotics can teach kids a lot about science, math and engineering, and Saturday the results will be highly visible at a youth robotics competition hosted by Sarah Heinz House.

The third annual Mister Rogers' Robotics Adventure is set for 9 a.m. to noon at Sarah Heinz House, One Heinz St., North Side. The event is open to the public.

The competition is a collaborative effort among three local institutions -- the public TV series "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," Carnegie Mellon University and Sarah Heinz House.

The competition involves 17 teams of kids between the ages of 8 and 14 from local schools and youth organizations. Each team will design, build and program a robot, which will then compete in a series of 10 challenges.

The event is a tie-in to "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days -- a series of events presented by local cultural institutions that celebrate the legacy of the late Fred Rogers, who would have turned 80 this year. Some of the robot challenges are based on his popular children's series. In one, the robots have to hit a door knocker to make the Daniel Tiger character come out of a clock. David Newell, a k a Mr. McFeely of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," will be at the competition, which runs from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., with an awards ceremony at 11:45 a.m.

Sarah Heinz House is a long-running youth program that offers after-school and summer programs in arts, recreation, gymnastics and leadership. In 2000, it launched the robotics program, which is now one of its most popular offerings.