FIRST ROBOTICS FRC Team 3932: Dirty Mechanics

 

Organized as the Boca Raton 4-H Science and Technology Club, highly motivated students from 8-14 different high schools and home schools encompass our community-based FIRST FRC Team 3932  “Dirty Mechanics.” With the support of our great sponsors and guidance of dedicated volunteer mentors, students work to build and program a 120 lb. robot to compete in exciting yearly competitions.

Tripling in size and girls on our team, and a 2:1 student/mentor ratio; we have grown into a year-round program.  Our goals are gracious professionalism, technical & leadership skill-building, strategic partnerships, team sustainability, and breaking a gender gap in technology.

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Off-season, we support our community through our Bike Repair Outreach, Cereal Drive for Boca Helping Hands and most recently during COVID-19 3D printing "ear savers" for first responders PPE.  To inspire new members, mentors, and sponsors to join us we promote FIRST through community robot demos, holiday parades and volunteer at FIRST tournaments.  

Investing in the future, our graduates have earned over $1M in FIRST partner, 4H, and other scholarships and grants from their FIRST participation. Our alumni are graduating college and landing challenging, well paying jobs! And some have returned to mentor the team!

 

We competed in the 2023 FRC World Championships 2023, qualifying by winning the prestigious South Florida Regional Impact Award. Additionally, in 2022. 2016, and 2014 we have been FRC World Championship competitors. 3932 has also been honored with multiple Regional competition awards and have been  Alliance Partner captains for Regional Finals matches. The team participates in off-season competitions like Pirate's Pillage and Space Coast Showdown and volunteer at many levels of FIRST competitions.

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Team Information

• Boca Raton 4-H Sci.; Tech. Club founded in Fall 2011. 2022-2023 is our 11th year of competition.

• Grown from 1 school to 8 schools and 2 homeschools with 25 students

• Year round program - 7 days/week in build/competition season, 1-2 days/week off-season

• 11 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 5 Sophomores

• Tripled girls on team since 2011-2012. 12 Girls, 13 Boys. (48% Girls, 52% Boys)

• Number of mentors has increased to 14.

• Number of sponsors has increased to 20

• 2:1 student/mentor ratio working with students, leading to increased team skills.

• Our goals are gracious professionalism, technical & leadership skill-building, strategic partnerships, and team sustainability, and breaking a gender gap in technology.
  
   

FIRST Outreach

• “How-To” videos on “Building 3 CIM  Ball Shifter Gearbox” and bumper tips videos to teach other FRC teams

• Volunteer; mentor FIRST Lego League (FLL) local, regional and state, received 2014 FL State Outstanding FRC Supporter Award

• Team members started 2 FLL teams & are mentors for 4 FLL teams

• Set up petition for Florida and other states to co-support bill S.2890, and gathered signatures in the 2016 regionals.

• Started and provided FLL kits for two FLL teams in at YIST School Agogo, Ghana. With help of our sponsor Citrix "GoToMeeting" videoconferencing helped students in real time build running Lego robots.

• Inspired our sponsor St. Andrew’s School to build Robotics classrooms and FLL & FTC programs as well as an Entrepreneurship Center that includes the FTC lab and playing field.

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Community Impact/Outreach

• Reaching 230,000, we marched and demoed our robots in 7 Boca Raton Holiday parades, winning 3rd place in 2013, 1st place walking group in 2018 & 2019.

• Worked with the Rotary Club to set up 600+ routers for students in need of WiFi to do their homework

• Worked with Morningday Community Solutions to fix over 200+ bikes for people in need

• Reaching 8420+, we have demoed & presented at local school, community, FLL & sponsor events like 3 robots performing choreography with a concert band to “The Machine Awakes” to the delight of kids, parents, & sponsors

• At Boca Helping Hands, food bank & soup kitchen, we have collected over 1,373 lbs of Thanksgiving basket food & cereal from our cereal drives in last 4 yrs and volunteered 170+ hrs

• Over 500 COVID PPE 3D printed and distributed to 15 organizations