Royal Oak Robotics runs a program for middle school students at Royal Oak Middle School that participates in FIRST Tech Challenge, or FTC. In FTC, middle school students build medium-sized robots and compete in a worldwide competition again other schools. The robots are built with a combination of off-the-shelf and custom-designed parts. The custom parts can be machined but also heavily feature 3D printing, with students learning how to design on a computer and how to operate the printers. Students also graduate from writing “block code” to full-fledged software development with industrial programming languages. These skills all build on the concepts introduced by our elementary school programs, but no experience is necessary to join the middle school program and all students are welcome to come and learn engineering. For more information about FIRST Tech Challenge, visit the FIRST Website.
The middle school program meets during evenings in the fall. The 2024 season has concluded, but we are now accepting sign-ups for the Fall 2025 season. While fall is some time away, some programs run during the winter, spring, and summer months, and if you indicate interest now, you’ll be kept in the loop and made aware of these opportunities. If this is something you’re interested in, please fill out the form and we’ll be in touch soon.