47 Beavers
Lt. Governor Meeting
To allow for more recognition of the importance of robotics in our community and the world, we got an audience with Aruna Miller, the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. We shared our mission, explained FTC robotics as a whole, showed that robotics in Maryland needed funding and resources, and gave her the benefits of Maryland robotics. For our efforts, we received the Governor's Citation (leftmost picture).
MoCoRobo Initiative
We revived the MoCo-Robo initiative of 47 Beavers. Our mission is to make access and opportunities for robotics to call students in Montgomery County. We brought together several robotics teams from different regions of the county to voice our cause and advocate for support from the MoCo Board of Education. We spent hours planning multiple meetings formulating a program and presenting testimonials at the Board meetings. Representatives from each team spoke about how robotics benefits students and why the Board should provide space and funding for FTC programs. It was an important event that brought together teams across the county to make our voices heard.
US Naval Sea Cadets
Our team was invited by the USNSC (District of Colombia Division) to inspire and teach cadets about robotics using hands-on experience for 50+ cadets and senior officers, and a presentation. We mentor the HE Mooberry FTC Team, a team composed of cadets of the DC Division. It was a fantastic learning experience for everyone, from our new members to experienced officers. We also have started to mentor the HE Mooberry FTC Team!
STEM Nights
We took part in STEM Nights at several schools, including Wayside ES, Potomac, Hallie Wells MS, Cedar Grove ES, and Little Bennett ES. At these events, we spread the word about robotics to kids of all ages, shared our program, and gave away small gifts. We also did fun activities like arts and crafts and building small projects with the students, helping spark their interest in STEM and robotics.
At a second meeting in March, we continued to showcase our robot and robotics in general, got more cadets interested in joining the HE Mooberry team, and were officially recognized as robotics mentors for the DC Naval Sea Cadets..
Joint Base Andrews Air Show
At the JBA Air Show, our team partnered with FRC Team 8592, Newton², to represent FIRST. We showcased our 2024–25 season robot, answered questions, and explained its design. Kids and adults also drove our demo robot, getting a fun, hands-on look at robotics. We shared FIRST’s mission of promoting STEM through teamwork, innovation, and community engagement.
Shri Yoga Days
We took part in Shri Yoga Day in both 2025 and 2026. Shri Yoga Day is an event focused on creating a family-friendly environment to learn and celebrate. Shri Yoga is a non-profit promoting a healthy and holistic way of life. Both years, our team hosted a booth where kids could drive and interact with our robot and experience robotics firsthand. We also shared information about robotics opportunities in the community, including our camps, FIRST competitions, and online resources to help students get started.
North South Foundation
Our team promoted robotics at NSF events, a charity that supports educational access for underprivileged children in India through academic competitions and classes in the US. With over 300 attendees from the DMV area, both kids and adults had the chance to learn about robotics opportunities. Our efforts spread FIRST robotics & even helped spark the creation of new FLL teams.
Frederick Holi Fest
We promoted FIRST robotics at a Holi Festival in Frederick in collaboration with the Northsouth Foundation. In a networking event, we were one of the of 50+ sponsors and vendors presenting to 800+ visitors to the event.
MD STEM FEST
At the Maryland STEM Festival, we showcased STEM and robotics through fun, easy to understand challenges and experiments, like the marshmallow tower, a mini-catapult, and even Lego projects using Spike Prime kit parts. This served as a foundation to introduce first robotics programs like FLL and FTC to the students who came to the festival at our local library to learn more about STEM and robotics. Overall, it was an overwhelming success.
Off-Season Scrimmages
We did many different fun activities during the off season. Our favorite one was the tic-tac-toe game, where we used our robots to move and drop blocks. During the events, we talked to other people about their robot design and game strategies. We collaborated with other teams in our area during these events.
FTC Info Session
To bring people who may be new to FIRST, FTC, and robotics overall into the STEM community, we hosted an informational session showcasing these programs, our experiences, and all about robotics. Then, we let attendees ask questions about these topics and answered them to help them integrate into the existing community and inspire the forming of new teams.
Competitive Scrimmages
On January 3rd, 47 Beavers invited three fellow FTC teams for a scrimmage, where teams competed in a game to identify possible improvements and learn from each other. Across multiple matches, we learned much about our robots and provided constructive criticism for each team, focusing on growth and support.
Following that, we attended a similar scrimmage hosted by right before the regional competition so that all of the teams could compare robots, critique designs, and do some last-minute testing and minor fixes. Most importantly, we made sure to support each other as FTC teams and learn and grow. Finally, we had two more smaller scrimmages: One right before the regional championship with FTC team Minerva's Mechanics (allowing us to test our robots and even score over 300 points together in a practice setting), and another more recently with team Circuit Breakers to do some testing and learn about our robots' strengths.