Help Boba Bots get to Champs!
Boba Bots is a robotics team registered under FIRST Robotics, a non-profit, global organization with thousands of teams across the globe.
This year, we have gained the opportunity to attend the FIRST Championship in Houston as a veteran team, pulled by chance out of a lottery.
As the team has not attended championships since 2004—before some of us were even born—we are very excited for this once in a lifetime opportunity!
As a result of this unexpected fantastic news, we are very pressed to find a way to financially support our trip. The amount we are requesting is $10,000; this will help cover registration, expenses for our chaperoning teacher, and financial support for students in need. We absolutely do not want to exclude any member from attending on the basis of cost, and your support in this endeavor would be extremely helpful.
Students hard at work fixing the robot between matches
In the past 21 years, our team has worked hard to provide a safe and inclusive space for students interested in STEAM and robotics to gain hands-on experience in a fun and educational way.
In recent years, our team has taken steps in expanding our scope, curating student interest in STEAM, and improving the quality of our robots. Just in the past 3 years, we have:
-Worked with the school to institute a Makerspace open to all students. We have provided almost all of the tools and machinery currently in the room using funds that we have raised from corporate sponsors.
-Instituted an annual STEM workshop for local middle school students to encourage interest in robotics.
-Developed student-written curriculum for teaching incoming robotics members in areas such as engineering, computer science, and publicity.
-Advocated for STEAM at community events such as National Night Out, San Mateo County Fair, Millbrae Machines, and the Bay Area Maker Faire.
-Worked with local teams to put together a robotics practice field at the San Mateo Event Center.
-Competed in more competitions than in the 8 preceding years combined.
-Established a stable support network of technical mentors and parents.
-Qualified for the world championships for the first time since the early 2000’s.
-Played in elimination matches at a regional competition for the first time since 2004 and ranking 3rd at our last event.
The team is undoubtedly on the rise, and we are one of Mills High School’s most impactful STEAM organizations. Together, our students put in more than a thousand hours of work over the course of the competition season, and gain invaluable experience in hands-on engineering and teamwork. We currently have over 40 active members and want to enable all of them to attend the Houston championship.
We are all very excited for this opportunity: to compete against the very best, to learn from teams who have more expertise than us, to participate in a competition that spans borders in such a way, and to experience just how big FIRST Robotics really is.
Programmers on the field tuning our vision system
Scouting/Strategy Team sorting through team data before the Team Draft stage. The top teams at the event pick their partners to compete in the elimination tournament.
Having some fun in the stands at the Monterey Bay Regional
About growingSTEMS: growingSTEMS in a non-profit aimed at spreading STEM education in Maryland and beyond. growingSTEMS is sponsoring Boba Bot's fundraiser and all proceeds will go towards Boba Bots. We are very thankful for growingSTEMS and their support - to learn more about them, you can visit their website at growingstems.org.
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