What is 
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About FIRST, Our Team, and the Engineering Desgin Process
FIRST Robotics is a program for kids ages 4-18 to explore and discover their interests in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST, says that their mission is "To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders." Participating in FIRST develops skills including problem-solving, teamwork, and communication, which are all imperative skills to have in the future, regardless of what career path is chosen. FIRST has multiple programs for varying ages, such as FLL (FIRST Lego League), FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge), and FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition). More information about FIRST can be found on their website: https://www.firstinspires.org/
Mechanical Meltdown
Our team, Mechanical Meltdown, is part of the FIRST program FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) and was established in 2017. We are based in Watkins Glen, NY, with members from multiple of the surrounding counties. We have been participated in the FTC Worldwide Championships in Detroit three times, which is quite an honor! Mechanical Meltdown is a community-based team, meaning we get to learn how to fundraise and gain our own sponsors. All the robots we build and the programs we create for them have no instructions, so it teaches us to think outside of the box.
Sponsors
Thank you to all our wonderful sponsors this season! We are a self-funded team, meaning we rely heavily on their generous donations to keep our team going. We use the funds donated by sponsors for various robot parts, game sets, tournament entry fees, and other miscellaneous items. If you or your business is interested in sponsoring our team this season, you can let us know in the Contact page located at the top of the screen.
The Engineering Desgin Process and How We Use It
Each season, we use the Engineering Design Process to design, build, and program a robot. To do this, we ASK questions to find the problem to solve, BRAINSTORM possible solutions, PLAN what we will build, CREATE to bring our idea to life, then ANALYZE what we have made to restart the loop and improve the robot. Using this process allows us to think creatively and prepares us for possible jobs in the future where we must use critical thinking skills.
