Club Info

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Our Mission

Our club’s mission is to make STEM education accessible and engaging for students throughout Central Virginia. We are dedicated to providing student-centered learning opportunities that foster skills in engineering, design, and innovation. Through hands-on projects and collaborative experiences, we aim to cultivate not only technical expertise but also essential life skills such as teamwork, organization, and leadership. Our goal is to empower the next generation to become confident problem-solvers and leaders who are equipped to tackle the challenges of the future.

FIRST

The FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is an annual robotics competition where teams of students come together to design, build, and program robots that compete in a strategic alliance format against other teams. Each year, the challenge changes, pushing teams to innovate and create new robots that meet specific objectives. Typically, the competition requires teams to construct a robot within dimensional constraints, which must then expand or adapt to complete various tasks, such as lifting, moving, or manipulating objects.

Beyond the technical aspects, FTC emphasizes the development of professionalism, cooperation, and community impact, benefiting participants and their surrounding communities. By participating in FTC, our members gain valuable experience in areas such as Computer-Aided Design (CAD), coding, mechanical engineering, project management, and leadership. The competition not only builds technical skills but also instills a strong sense of teamwork and organizational abilities. For more information about FTC, visit their website at firstinspires.org.

Community

Engaging with our community is a vital aspect of our club’s mission. This involves connecting with experts in the field to understand the real-world applications of our robotics skills, collaborating with other FTC teams to grow as builders, coders, and individuals, and working to inspire local interest in STEM.

In order to engage with our community at the WAHS robotics club, we participate in many events across Central Virginia. ClubFest is an event organized by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Virginia for groups to show off and attract new members. At ClubFest we showcased the club’s projects and interacted with many young technology enthusiasts. The attendees got to learn about our club’s robot and enjoyed watching it navigate around the festival. Part of our club’s mission is to create STEM interest in our community, and this experience reinforced our commitment to the goal of fostering future engineers.

This year, we created a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) class for the students of the nearby Henley Middle School. Over five weeks, students learned the basics of the CAD software Onshape and were able to design their custom models, bringing them to life with our 3D printers. Our goal with the CAD class was to give the students a taste of what it’s like to do engineering and to foster their interest in STEM subjects. After the excellent success we had this year, we plan to host the CAD class again next year.

During WAHS with a Cause, we had the opportunity to engage 2nd-grade classes at Crozet Elementary in robotics and engineering. Club members explained the workings and development of our robot, demonstrated the engineering process using Hot Wheels, and let the students drive aroung various robots.

Budget Breakdown

Below is an approximate breakdown of how we use the club’s yearly income from sponsors. A significant portion of our budget is required to build our robots each year, which unfortunately leaves limited funds for improvements and expansion. With increased income, we hope to purchase invaluable tools, such as a CNC cutter, faster and more reliable 3D printers, and possibly even a milling machine someday. Additional funds would allow us to acquire higher-quality parts and expand our manufacturing capabilities, thereby enhancing our ability to demonstrate advanced robotics and extend our impact within the community.

Sponsorship

We greatly value the support of our sponsors, whose contributions are essential to the success of our club. Sponsorships allow us to build, innovate, and compete in robotics, while also providing valuable STEM education opportunities to students. By partnering with us, your company can help inspire the next generation of engineers and problem-solvers. Below, you’ll find our sponsorship options. For more information or to become a sponsor, please contact us at westernalbemarlehsrobotics@gmail.com. You can also visit our main website at wahsroboticsclub.org.

Gold - $750+

Your company’s brand on all three team banners (which are displayed at competitions), robots, t-shirts (worn by all members), website, and a signed thank-you letter from our team at the end of the season

Silver - $300+

Your company’s brand on all three team robots and t-shirts (worn by all members), and a signed thank-you letter from our team at the end of the season

Bronze - $100+

Your company’s brand on all team t-shirts (worn by all members), our website, and a signed thank-you letter from our team at the end of the season.

Associate - $50+

Your company’s brand logo on our club website.