Prelude
In the 2015-2016 school year a group of students formed a Maker Collective class at Jordan High to essentially have unstructured time to work on STEM projects. At a groundbreaking ceremony the students were introduced to some local FIRST FRC teams, and that planted the seeds to transform the Maker group into a FRC team.
2017 Rookie Season
Entering the 2016-2017 school year, there was much learning that needed to be done. A special acknowledgement goes to the Waterford Ravens, Team 3245, who took us under their wing, so to speak. Our original team members went to Waterford after school multiple times where they learned how to build a drive train and how the basic electronics were assembled. In our first year, the team workspace was a standard carpeted classroom and the tools the team had access to were drills, wrenches, a chop saw ... the same tools that could probably be found in most any house. The robot the team built for the 2017 Steamworks season was wood and pool noodles above the chassis. The only task that the robot was designed to do was collect gears and deliver them to the airship, but due to the simplicity of the design and the proficiency of the drive team that task could be completed at a breathtaking pace.
As the Utah Regional competition progressed, the High Rollers from Las Vegas, Team 987, noticed how well our robot could deliver the gears, and offered to add a climber (cheesecake). In the end the High Rollers invited our team to be on their alliance which we collectively won and earned a trip to Houston for Worlds. We also won the Rookie All-Star award at the competition.
During our first year we also learned about the importance of outreach, and we incorporated several events into our schedule, including visiting an elementary school and demoing our robot at a STEM night at the Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer facility. Our rookie season was an amazing introduction to FIRST Robotics, and the overriding philosophy of Gracious Professionalism that is embraced by all.
During our first year we also learned about the importance of outreach, and we incorporated several events into our schedule, including visiting an elementary school and demoing our robot at a STEM night at the Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer facility. Our rookie season was an amazing introduction to FIRST Robotics, and the overriding philosophy of Gracious Professionalism that is embraced by all.
2018 and beyond
Beginning in 2017 we were able to move out of our classroom workspace into something quite a bit better. Since Jordan High does not have the equipment and tools required to build sophisticated robots, we accepted the generous offer to relocate our build location to Alta High School, which is the home of ICARUS INNOVATED, Team 4598. We greatly appreciate having access to not only tools and materials, but also mentors.
The summer after the 2018 season we organized a week-long summer camp for middle school students, where 15 participants were given a kit to assemble and design a robot to place beanbags over an obstacle. The teams were organized in alliances of two, and we formatted it very similar to FIRST competitions with ranking matches and then a playoff.
The team goal is to maintain and grow our program, add more community outreach events to our schedule, secure dedicated sponsors and continue to learn more about robotics!
The summer after the 2018 season we organized a week-long summer camp for middle school students, where 15 participants were given a kit to assemble and design a robot to place beanbags over an obstacle. The teams were organized in alliances of two, and we formatted it very similar to FIRST competitions with ranking matches and then a playoff.
The team goal is to maintain and grow our program, add more community outreach events to our schedule, secure dedicated sponsors and continue to learn more about robotics!