Wheaton Robotics (Team Affinity)
The Robotics Team from Wheaton High School is a part of the FIRST program (For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology). FIRST was developed “to create a world where science and
technology are celebrated…where young people dream of being science and technology heroes.” One of the
program’s goals is to combine the rigors of academic excellence with the excitement of sports.
Students on the Wheaton High School Robotics Team will participate in local, state, and national
competitions every year, gaining an unmatched engineering experience. Through one-on-one interaction with
mentors while building their robot throughout the season, students will learn about electrical, mechanical,
and computer engineering. Other aspects of the program include experience in web and robotic programming
along with web design, budgeting, marketing, advertising, and fund-raising. Students from FIRST Teams are
essentially running their own organization with a formal structure similar to running a business.
Through this innovative program Wheaton students build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills
that will help motivate them to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. They will apply
classroom lessons in math, science, and technology and develop teamwork and real -world problem-solving
skills, as they compete with and against teams around the world.
Meeting times: The team meets and works in room 106. The meeting schedule varies with the time of the
season.
Month
Schedule
September and October:
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 – 4:00.
November and December
Every day; from 2:30 – 4:00
January and February
During this “build season” the team meets every day from 2:30 – 6:00 and every
Saturday from 10:00 – 6:00. FIRST teams are subject to a strict timeline to
design, develop, build, test and train with a robot that can compete. This
aggressive schedule is required in order to accomplish that objective.
March and April
Every day; from 2:30 – 4:00. The regional and national competitions are also in
March and April.