The South San Antonio Robotics program was established in 1999 by Physics teacher Mike Henry. In 2000, we became the first team in the San Antonio area to compete at the FIRST Robotics Competition. We are proud of our history and are currently in our 24th year.
The 2000 team
The 2002 team, Lone Star Champions
Newsletter from 2013
One of the goals of the robotics program has always been to help students increase their self-confidence by learning technical and non-technical skills. Members can look forward to an introduction to the worlds of engineering, manufacturing, and programming. They also develop valuable skills such leadership, teambuilding and communication. Mentors from different areas provide assistance and guidance while working with the team. We welcome all students who are interested.
Our competition season is from January thru April. We design and build a robot to perform and compete in a specific challenge. Over the course of about 8 weeks, we participate in two District Competitions at venues in different parts of Texas. If we qualify, the team can compete at State and then Worlds. These competitions are amazing opportunities for students to use their skills and work with other teams.
August to December is considered our off-season. We spend some of that time practicing and improving our robot designs. The team will also participate in different offseason events and take field trips related to engineering and manufacturing. A valuable part of the off-season is our participation in outreach programs. This allows us to spend time with future robotics members from elementary and middle schools while sharing with the community the skills that the team has developed.
We aren't just about the competitions. FIRST Robotics and the Grease Monkeys help to expose students in our community to STEM fields. This can lead to possible education opportunities and careers. Every year the team takes a number of field trips to different businesses to learn about careers in robotics and manufacturing. We also take our robot to outreach programs at schools. local businesses and trade shows. This gives us opportunities to share our robotic designs and show off all the hard work our members have done. One of our goals is to reach out to our district and beyond. We have a passion for robotics and STEM and want to share that with younger students.
Visit to PDS-CNC Machining
Manufacturing Day at Pressure Systems International
Texas State University IT Symposium
Core4STEM Expo @ Boeing Center