MAKING A SPLASH IN STEM

Our Outreach

Our Mission

We started as students with a passion for creativity and robotics, and we’ve never forgotten what it felt like to experience STEM for the first time. That’s why outreach is more than just an activity for us; it is a core part of who we are as a team. Through our outreach goal, Making a Splash in STEM, we have created a three-step pipeline designed to help students discover STEM, engage with STEM, and continue their STEM journey.

• First Bite: Introduce students to STEM by bringing robotics directly into their communities through community events, demonstrations, and engaging presentations.

• Ripple Effect: Extend STEM learning beyond the event through free educational resources, online courses, and self-guided learning opportunities that students can access anytime.

• Next Wave: Support students as they continue their STEM journey through FIRST programs, long-term mentorship, FLL involvement, and ongoing technical guidance.

Together, these initiatives create a pathway that guides students from their first introduction to STEM through continued learning and, ultimately, active participation in the FIRST community. Learn more about each initiative below.

Through every interaction, we strive to make a splash in STEM.

3000+

Community Members Reached

230+

Course Requests by Coaches

500+

Outreach and Resource Creation Hours

Shark Bites this Season

FIRST BITE

Introducing Students to STEM

As part of our First Bite initiative within Making a Splash in STEM, we bring robotics directly into our community through school visits, STEM festivals, library events, and interactive demonstrations. Our goal is to give students their first experience with STEM or robotics in a fun, approachable, and memorable way. Whether they're driving an FTC robot for the first time or learning how engineering solves real-world problems, we strive to spark curiosity and show that STEM is something anyone can explore. Learn more below.

NextGen Stemfest 2026

We participated in the NextGen STEMfest on May 30th, 2026 at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, MA! STEMfest is a free to attend, community-wide STEM festival that attracts many attendees. We showcased our Decode competition robot, along with our "Minibot" - a passion project from the off-season. Our station also featured an FLL robot-building activity. We impacted over 1500 people, with more than 100 attending our FLL building station. Thank you to everyone who came!

MakeIt Fest 2026

We participated in MakeIt Fest 2026 on June 13th in Nashua, NH! MakeIt Fest is a community event celebrating creativity, innovation, and hands-on STEM learning.

At our booth, we showcased our FTC competition robot and spoke with students, families, and community members about robotics and FIRST Tech Challenge. We also brought our offseason Minibot, which attendees could drive themselves. We impacted over 1000 attendees, and more than 100 students, parents, and community members got hands-on experience with the robot, helping spark interest in STEM and engineering.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and made the event a success!

Check out the newsletter covering this event here!

2026 - 2027 Season

RIPPLE EFFECT

Extending STEM Learning Beyond Events

As part of our Ripple Effect initiative within Making a Splash in STEM, we provide free, hands-on STEM courses and educational resources that allow students to continue learning long after an outreach event ends. Through structured, project-based lessons, students build creativity, confidence, and problem-solving skills while exploring robotics, programming, engineering, and other technical subjects at their own pace. Educators, teams, and students can access these resources on our Ripple Effect - Free Courses page for use in classrooms, clubs, or independent learning.

Learn More About Ripple Effect

NEXT WAVE

Empowering and inspiring the next generation of STEM

As part of our Next Wave initiative within Making a Splash in STEM, we help students take the next step in their STEM journey by supporting their growth through FIRST programs, long-term mentorship, and technical guidance. Our goal is to build confidence, develop technical skills, and empower students to become future leaders in the FIRST and STEM community.

FLL Course

For Spike Prime

We built an FLL Coding Course for anyone jumping into robotics with the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Set. Whether you are brand new to coding or gearing up for FLL, this course will walk you through everything you need to know about programing for FLL wile still keeping things hands on and fun. This course was requested and given to over 145 FLL teams from 30+ states in the USA and Canada, so if you are interested, check out the page called First Bite page (free courses page)!

Competitions

+ Scrimmages

We ran a booth at the Massachusetts FLL State Championship (2025-2026 season), showcasing our robot to spark interest in FTC and hosting interactive coding games and other activities targeted specifically toward FLL competitors. We also served as referees at an FLL scrimmage to support a fair and fun environment for competing teams. Volunteering at FLL events lets us contribute to the same community that inspired many of us to get into robotics — whether running a booth or officiating matches, we're committed to strengthening the FIRST ecosystem in Massachusetts.

Mentoring

+Teaching

We give back to the robotics community by mentoring both FLL and FTC teams, sharing the knowledge and experience we’ve gained through our own FIRST journey to help other teams thrive. We guide teams through robot design and building, programming, outreach, judging, and the overall process of getting started in competitive robotics. We currently mentor FLL Team 45481, The Fantabulous Robogirls, from Illinois, as well as FTC Team 37267, Trial & Error, helping them develop their technical skills and build the foundation needed to succeed as independent teams. We have also connected teams with resources, grants, competition opportunities, and other FIRST teams to strengthen their programs. With interest from teams across the country, we hope to expand our mentorship during the 2026–2027 season and help inspire the next wave of FIRST competitors.

2025 - 2026 Season

EVENTS

Cub Scouts Event

We partnered with a local Cub Scout troop to bring hands-on robotics and engineering activities to young students in our community, introducing them to problem-solving and the excitement of STEM. We were able to work with around 30 students in kindergarten to 4th grade through our 3 activity stations.