FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Four Central Valley robotics teams are heading to a big competition in Texas.
“We’re living out our dreams of becoming engineers in technology and science.” – Ben Mosemann.
15 year-old Ben Mosemann is a member of the robotics teams called Metallic Thunder, named after a passage in the bible; “It derived from, I believe our team number, which is 3303. In the bible there a passage about the thunder of God.”
His team is made-up entirely of homeschoolers, one of four teams from the Central Valley that have qualified for the 2017 FIRST Championships in Houston, Texas.
FIRST* (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by nationally recognized inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen in 1989.
“I can’t even think of one team, I know, in the nation that’s made up entirely of homeschoolers, there are plenty of teams that are community based, and then there’s others that are made of charter schools or private schools like that.” – Ben Mosemann, Metallic Thunder Team Member.
Because they are a home school, Mosemann says they don’t get public school funding, so they are working hard to foot the bill. Around $17,000 was needed for expenses including flying the team to Houston.
“We still need to raise about $4500 for housing, food, and other stuff like that.” – Ben Mosemann, Metallic Thunder Team Member.
You can link to their Team 3303 page for more information: pgehttp://team3303.com/
To donate to help fund the trip: http://team3303.com/sponsor-info/
2017 First Championships: https://www.firstchampionship.org/
Social media: #makeitloud
Team Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0IkMI3DfDEXd3o4d09fbDhpMjA/view
*FIRST was created as a “sport for the mind” to inspire students in engineering and technological fields. The core values of FIRST are best summed up in these two terms, “gracious professionalism” (a term coined by FIRST National Advisor Dr. Woodie Flowers) and “coopertition”. Practicing an attitude of “gracious professionalism” brings a mutually beneficial respect for your competitors and teammates alike. “Coopertition” is a combination of cooperation and competition. These values encourage a healthy competitive spirit, which sets this sport apart from all others.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
