foolS TEAM ahead

We are a new team formed in 2017 composed of FIRST veterans with a goal to showcase how a MakerSpace can make FIRST more accessible for rookie teams and enhance the capabilities of existing teams (FRC, FTC and FLL levels). MakerSpaces are relatively unknown in America but flourishing in other parts of the world, as a community hub for Makers, Tools, Space combining to enable creativity and innovation for persons of all ages. MakerSpaces are primarily born and sustained by volunteers (just like FIRST) with a passion to Make and to help others Make. We think MakerSpaces are a wonderful opportunity for incubating FIRST teams on a larger scale. We think MakerSpaces are important resources to develop in communities across America. Our team is supported through Nova Labs - a very cool MakerSpace in Reston, VA. We are one of five FIRST teams operating out of Nova Labs this season - with connections to many school based teams across the Northern Virginia area. www.nova-labs.org

Our team is dedicated to all aspects of the FIRST Mission. Our team name is a fun play on words to accent Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Math (STEAM). We strive to create momentum in a 'Full Steam Ahead' fashion. Are we 'Fools' for taking the MakerSpace track? Maybe, but we aren't hesitating to give it a try and show the FIRST community the power of a MakerSpace. If we fail this season, we'll consider our effort following that of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla - innovators who did not give up after a failure, but rather learned and continued ahead to a bigger and better success. Like many brilliant ideas, our name is the result of a bit of an accident. (You'll have to ask us about the story - it has something to do with a teenager not hearing his parent accurately.) We think 'It's Cool to be a Fool.'

By design, we are a 'student led team.' We want to learn what it takes to make a 'startup' successful. Our parents and mentors are our 'investors.' Team members are doing the work to plan, organize and execute our mission. We hope to develop templates that rookie teams can follow to start and sustain FIRST teams - ideally in concert with a MakerSpace. That's a lofty goal; we are going to give it a shot.

This website tells you a bit about the team, a bit about MakerSpaces and our journey to bridge the two together. We look forward to telling the Makerspace story through our FTC competitions. We hope to meet a lot of people and answer the questions 'What's a MakerSpace' - 'Why a MakerSpace and FIRST?' We want to hear about other FIRST teams (FRC, FTC, FLL) that are integrated with MakerSpaces.

If you are a Maker visiting this site and aren't aware of the awesome FIRST program (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology), check this out: www.firstinspires.org/ (It really is more than just robots).