Hello families and sponsors! This is a recap of our summer outreach, and our experience at the World Championship in Houston. We apologize for this being delayed due to our irregular summer schedule. As always, thank you for your support!

Houston Championship

After qualifying for the World Championship through the FIRST Impact Award, which we received at the Wisconsin Regional, we traveled to Houston, Texas to compete on April 16th-19th. At the Championship, we reached out to other teams, inviting them to MROC, and connecting with fellow Wisconsin teams. We participated in the Newton Division and were excited to compete against teams on a worldwide scale. In between matches, our team members visited a FIRST Innovation Fair, where we met various companies dedicated to the future of STEAM, and many colleges and universities to provide education options. This was very helpful for our high school students as they consider future careers. Our students were able to learn from various presentations and from talking with FIRST sponsors. We had numerous challenges through qualifications, and ended up ranking 43rd in our division. However, this was a great experience for our team and taught us many skills through our trials. Although we didn’t advance in the competition past qualifications, we supported our division as they progressed in the competition. Overall, the Newton Division won Einstein and became world champions, as our team cheered them on!

Wisconsin State Championship

On June 13th and 14th we participated in the Wisconsin State Championship in Sheboygan, WI. With next year’s season switching to district events in Wisconsin, this event was a way for our team to practice the new format, and it was great to continue utilizing our competition robot during the off-season. Overall, we ranked 13th and were asked to join the 8th seed alliance. We were glad to graciously accept the invitation from captain 2506, Saber Robotics and first pick 1259, Paradigm Shift. We finished in 13th place, and though we didn’t win, we were glad to see that our team member Amanda E. won the Spirit of Wisconsin Award. Additionally, our Mentor and Alum Kenneth Mathew won the Most Valuable Volunteer award.

Dockhounds Outreach Event

On June 4th, Team 930 visited the Dockhounds stadium to participate in the baseball game. This was a great outreach event as we were able to interact with the community. We had a table setup where we were able to talk to people who were at the game. In addition, we were honored to throw the first pitch with a catapult robot that we had constructed in just three weeks!

Clarendon High Interest Day

On May 2nd, we were thrilled to visit Clarendon Elementary School, where we were able to advocate for the FIRST program by introducing young students to STEAM. We showcased FLL and FRC robots, allowing these elementary school students to see robotics in action. In addition, these students were taught about the scientific side of STEAM through engaging science experiments.

Open House

On May 21st, the team was able to engage with anyone interested in robotics in our community. We were excited to share the experience of joining Team 930 heading into our summer season. We talked to interested students and their family members, showcased our 2025 robot, and allowed students to drive our kit bot. We also held a LEGO League demonstration for our younger students. The Open House was for students heading into grades 4-12th. It took place in our shop, putting all of these interested students right into the action of robotics. Our Open House is always a great opportunity to impact the aspiring engineers in our community.

Interviews

On May 22-29th, our team required all returning members to interview with some of our mentors. This is one of the ways we prepare students for future careers, whether that be in a STEAM field or otherwise. The interviews are run exactly like a job interview, giving students the opportunity to learn how to talk to future employers and market themselves well in their industry. Students could apply for a leadership position and explain why their experiences and personality make them a good fit for the team. In this way, students gain experience in writing resumes and cover letters, and interview prep. Overall, these interviews build our student’s soft skills and supply them with the confidence they need, knowing that they are prepared for their future careers.

Orientation Day

On June 17th, we had new students learn about each subteam, helping them find where they may like to be on the team. We did this by creating a “passport and stamp” activity for these students. After completing a project at each section of the team, they shared what they learned and earned a stamp for that area. This is the first step for these students to become members of Team 930. It is a great opportunity to develop the interest these students have in robotics, and overall, improve their understanding of engineering.

Banker Wire

On June 18th, Team 930 was grateful for the chance to visit one of our top sponsors and see what they do. At their facility we were able to learn how they produce various types of wire mesh. In return, we were able to demo our robot. In addition, we answered any questions they had about our team, giving us the opportunity to share FIRST knowledge with our sponsors.

Mathison Manufacturing

On July 10th, we visited Mathison Manufacturing’s facility. We had the amazing opportunity to tour the facility and see their production work. We demoed our robot for them, and answered questions about Team 930 and FIRST. It was great to establish a connection and engage with everyone at Mathison Manufacturing!

Touchpad

On July 18th, we visited Touchpad’s facility with many rookies joining us for the sponsor visit. We explored Touchpad with mentor Kenneth Mathew, and learned about the industry of electronics. This was a great experience for us as a team to engage with Touchpad and learn and grow as young engineers. As always, it was a pleasure to visit our sponsors as a team.

Badge Bash Weekend

Through the July 26-27th weekend, we provided a great experience for the BSA and GSA troops in our community. We demoed our kit bot and introduced them to the overall concept of engineering. We provided them with the hands-on experience of building a robot with our LEGO Spike Prime Kits. In total, 25 scouts earned STEAM related badges. At the BSA event the Scouts earned robotics and programming merit badges. At the GSA event, the Girl Scouts earned designing, programming, and showcasing badges. At the end of both of these events, these students had the opportunity to demo the robots they created to Team 930 representatives and the Scouts’ parents.

MROC

On July 26-27th, we hosted the Mukwonago Robotics Offseason Competition (MROC), to help robotics teams in Wisconsin practice in a regional competition setup, while also promoting FIRST to the overall community. On July 25th our team, along with other volunteers worked to set up the event and generate an environment to showcase the importance of STEAM. We had 27 teams at MROC compete, learn from workshops that we organized, decorate rocks, make personalized buttons, and watch fun mentor and human player matches. We also fundraised backpacks and school supplies for Milwaukee Cross Trainers Academy. In total, we donated 38 backpacks, with Team 930 donating 17 backpacks alone. Overall, the first alliance, with 1732, Hilltopper Robotics, 8744, The Leviathans, and 5096, The Teutonic Force, won the event through a tiebreaker match. As a result, alliance 2, with 1714, MORE Robotics, 3197, HexHounds, and 1220, Rockhoppers were our event finalists. Our judged awards at MROC included the Breakthrough Award, which was given to Team 1091 Oriole Assault, the Judges Award, presented to 10909, Cutting Edge, the Business Excellence Award, went to 1792, Round Table Robotics, the Programming Award for 3197, HexHounds, and the Engineering in Design Award, which was awarded to Team 4531, Steampunk.

National Night Out

On August 5th, our team brought our Kit Bot to National Night Out in Mukwonago. We engaged with our community while promoting FRC and FLL. We had 120 kids feed game pieces into our robot, and even had two kids drive our robot! In addition, we made a significant impact on 1,454 people by introducing them to our team. We were glad to see so much interest from all these aspiring engineers. It was also great to see our sponsor, the Mukwonago Rotary Club, and our FIRST advocate, Representative Wichgers.

LEGO Camp

Through August 4th-8th, we interacted with students from around our community. We had the chance to get them more involved in the concept of robotics and engineering as a whole. Over the course of the week, we taught 34 kids foundational STEAM skills, including programming and assembly through LEGO Spike Prime Kits. We had both morning and afternoon camps provided for these students. On the final day of this camp, after teaching these students basic engineering skills, we had them participate in a mock competition. This was a great way to educate young minds on the significance of engineering!

LRR

Through August 15th-16th, our team members participated in Levathians Robotics Rampage (LRR), as a practice offseason event. This was an opportunity for our rookies to experience how FIRST events run. It was a unique event—with a smaller number of teams—which allowed for a more collaborative feel. We assisted other teams, loaning supplies and even having one of our students support Team 10264, STORM, as their human player. This event was an opportunity to have our rookies participate in all aspects of the drive team. We loved watching the event and seeing 8744, the Levathians (the host team), win the competition along with 1792, Round Table Robotics and 9999, an offseason demo bot.

Thank you for supporting Team 930, and following along with us throughout the summer!