Outreach

The 2025 Field Log

1. Washington State Library

   2025

   Our team presented to a group of nearly 50 educators with the Washington State Library. During this presentation we showed educators how to use multiple free educational programs for STEM education, such as FTC Sim, Pico-8, Code.org, and Amazon Future Engineers. We also sent 10 FLL kits to the Washington State Library so they could teach FLL robotics.

   “My biggest take-away was how amazing the students were!”

   “There were several free resources that were shared to promote coding. I’m especially excited about FTC Sims and PICO-8.”

2. Supporting & Assisting FLL Teams

   September 2025

   9876 supports and assists three FLL teams from Jefferson Middle School. After their funding was cut, we revived their program by giving them a space to learn and build, and volunteered as mentors. In addition to providing the space and equipment needed, we also help them by giving them insight into methods for programming and presenting. Thanks to our support, all three teams advanced to the FLL semifinals, with four teams advancing in total.
3. Mentoring & Assisting 4 Intro Class Teams

   2025

   Each year, we share a classroom with 4 intro class teams. Throughout the semester, we guide these teams in innovation, helping them modify their robots to play a simplified version of a past FTC game. At the end of the semester, we host a “final exam” competition. This experience not only challenges their skills but also encourages them to join an FTC team the following season.

4. Mentoring, Assisting & Supporting 2 Sister FTC Teams

   September 2025

   On the first day of school, before the season started, 9876 watched a group of passionate students eager to apply their STEM skills join team 20118 and team 13484. We stood by their side every step of the way, offering guidance through each challenge, from creating a team name to designing, building, and programming their first robot. 9876 taught them advanced fundamental skills, including 3D printing, CAD, and portfolio building, while also helping them navigate the nerve-racking process of presenting to judges. Through the season, we continued to fuel their enthusiasm, ensuring the students remained motivated and eager to learn.
5. Hosted Workshop & Mock Competition

   October 2025

   We organized and hosted a mock FTC competition to assist teams in their preparation for the first Lovelace competition. This event featured an official FIRST head referee and a FIRST Senior Mentor Judge Advisor, to whom teams could ask questions. In total, eight FTC teams from our area attended. 9876 ran several practice matches as well as hosted a portfolio and presentation workshop.

   Representatives from St. Martin’s University, the University of Washington, and Oregon State University gave presentations about their engineering programs. The 80+ students in participation expressed their gratitude for our hospitality and extended their best wishes for our success in the upcoming season.

6. Hosted 3 FTC & One FLL Event

   2025

   By hosting the FTC Lovelace League competitions and an FLL qualifier, we continue the spirit of the FIRST community by setting up the competitions a day before FTC and FLL teams arrive and providing a location for the event to take place.
7. Robotics Demonstrations

   Ongoing

   We bring parts of the FTC field, one or more robots, and a presentation explaining the fundamentals of FIRST and Gracious Professionalism. We have given demonstrations at:

   • Jefferson Middle School
   • Boston Harbor Elementary
   • Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital
   • Olympic Airshow
   • Lacey STEM Fair
   • LP Brown Elementary
   • Washington Middle School
   • Griffin Middle School

8. CHS Football Game

   October 2025

   We helped at the concessions and ticketing booth for our football team, selling snacks and drinks. All proceeds went towards our team. During one of the games the cheese dispenser stopped working, and with permission we opened it up. We found the problem, which was the motor connections, and we fixed it!
9. Summer Robotics Camp with FRC Team 4450

   2025

   Team 9876 was instrumental in hosting a one-week summer camp with our sister FRC team 4450 for over 80 students. During the event, 60 middle school students built and competed with FTC robots, while 20 elementary students built and competed with FLL robots. Our team also designed the game and curriculum that was used for FTC students. One of the highlights of the event was our opportunity to welcome 15 Japanese exchange students from Olympia’s sister city into the FTC competition. We were thrilled to hear how thankful the exchange students were for the exciting robotics experience.

   Throughout this event students rose to the challenge of building competition-ready robots in such a short period of time. With our expansive curriculum, students were able to use newly gained skills to build their robots. They then competed with these robots on the final day of camp, where all 16 FTC teams and 10 FLL teams competed against each other in their respective events.

10. Winter Camp

    January 2025

    Additionally, we helped run a 3-day camp for 20 students who built FLL robots. The students involved in this camp walked away with a new spark of interest for robotics and STEM.
11. Olympic Flight Museum

    June 2025

    9876 has had an information booth at the Olympic Airshow for 3 years with FTC demo robots. We held demonstrations, allowing children and adults to drive the robots and to learn about the robots, and we handed out informational flyers on FIRST robotics and our team. We also had 9876 team members work behind the scenes for both days to help run the event of over 50,000 people.