From the archive
Memories
Stories from FIRST® in Texas — the volunteers, teams and students
who built the seasons before this one.
For sixteen years the programs in this state were run by FIRST® in Texas, an independent organization of staff, contractors and a great many volunteers. In 2026 that work came back inside FIRST itself, as FIRST Texas. The people did not change. The seasons did not change. But the website that carried the record of them is being switched off.
These 51 stories were on it. They are spotlights, mostly — a volunteer who has judged for a decade, a team that found a way to pay for its season, a student explaining what a robot taught them, an alum describing where it led. Between them they cover 2014 to 2026, which is longer than the old site itself admitted: its final move stamped most of these with the day they were migrated rather than the day they were written.
They were recovered from the Internet Archive and kept here, as close to how they were published as we could manage. Nobody wrote them for a history page. They read better for it.
Some of this is incomplete, and you can help.
Every story now carries the date it was actually published, from 2014 to 2026, and only 20 of the 57 photographs these stories referenced were ever captured by the archive. The rest exist now only in somebody’s own files. If you know when a story happened, who is in a picture, or you have a photograph of your own from that day, the button on any card will take it — no account, one box. Everything is checked by the team before it appears.
14 of 51 from 2015.
Teams
Seasons, builds and the odd miracle · 8- No photo in the archiveSeptember 2015Team Spotlight: FTC 7172 Grows Local Talent[first] from the start has been a strong force for creating community, and you only need to look to the Texas teams to see that.
- No photo in the archiveAugust 2015Team Spotlight: "Fear the Bow" with the Bronc BotzLooking for a way to show off your support for girls in robotics? The Bronc Botz may have your answer. They stole the show at the Alamo Region FTC Championships this past spring with their wonderful outreach and fundraising project.
- No photo in the archiveJuly 2015Team Spotlight: Rock Star Recruiting with Dia De Los Robots"It’s not just robotics; it’s for everyone." This is the mantra that team Dia De Los Robots lives by when considering how to run their robotics program. Each team member gets experience in multiple areas: building, programming, public relations, and leadership. The students were quick to say how pro
- No photo in the archiveJune 2015Team Spotlight: Creative Fundraising with the OutliersOne of the hallmarks of [first] teams is that they never let any obstacles come between the students and their dream. The Outliers, a [first] LEGO League team in Austin, TX, have been hard at work charting their own destiny with the support of Homeaway and their community.
- No photo in the archiveMay 2015Team Spotlight: LASA RoboticsLASA Robotics team 4290 is part of an incredible system of support at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, where the robotics program has a history of over 20 years. Because of this support base and a grant from the Texas Workforce Commission, team 4290 has great opportunities to introduce robotics
- No photo in the archiveMarch 2015Team Spotlight: Austin Robotics Club Takes the ReinsThe Austin Robotics Club, [first] Tech Challenge team 8399, is determined to set their own course, and they are starting with their own robotics organization. Despite this being the first year participating in FTC for some, their team is entirely student-run, with an emphasis on business sense and i
- No photo in the archiveFebruary 2015Team Spotlight: FLL 944 Brings It Home to the CommunityCommunity involvement is the name of the game for FLL team 3, 2, 1…GO! The past 3 years, they have met the [first] LEGO League challenges head on, creating technology solutions to help people from all walks of life: from seniors losing their eyesight to drivers during dangerous storms. This year, th
- No photo in the archiveJanuary 2015Team Spotlight: Allison Dragonots’ Triumph through TeamworkAllison Dragonots FIRST Lego League (FLL) Team # 8963 is a group of talented students who are a combination of ELL (English language learners), transitioning bilingual, and monolingual students. They are all first time participants to the FLL robotics competition.
From the archive
6- No photo in the archiveMay 2015Lego Lions Make Texas ProudTexas teams never fail to impress. The Laurel Mountain Elementary “Lego Lions” team, supported by the Freescale Foundation and [first] in Texas, was honored as one of three global finalists for the FLL “Global Innovation Award,” presented by XPRIZE, at the annual [first] Championship World Festival,
- No photo in the archiveApril 2015Girls and STEM: What Factors Matter?Google Diversity has taken steps to see what factors make a difference in a girl's decision to engage in STEM learning and like any scientist, we know that research needs to be applied in order to be useful. Consider the facts and suggestions below to encourage more girls to join in the robotics fun
- No photo in the archiveApril 2015Top 10 Differences Between Robotics and SportsPaul Smith of Lead With A Story recently attended his first ever [first] event and had a lot of glowing remarks to share about it. We are happy to share his wonderful post and remind all of you in our community to speak up and share about the great program you have chosen to be a part of.
- No photo in the archiveMarch 2015Be the Spark - Share your StoryThe Be the Spark collection celebrates women, girls, and men who are flipping the script on gender roles in science and technology. Hear from women and girls about how their passion for science and technology first developed and meet women from history whose contributions to science and technology h
- No photo in the archiveFebruary 2015Win Big with the DARPA Robotics Video ContestAll high school students are invited to take part in the DARPA Student Video contest, to compete for expenses-paid admission to the DARPA Robotics Challenge in California to be part of the future of robotics.
- No photo in the archiveJanuary 201510,000 square feet of practice space - now available!The folks at ATX STEM Park are excited to announce their new space at ACC Highland Mall. Their 10,000 square feet of robotics practice space is sure to make this season a strong one for you and your team.
Recovered from the Internet Archive, September 2026. Dates come from the original site’s own files and from the photographs’ capture dates where those survived; where neither did, the story says so rather than guessing.