Royal Oak Robotics wins state honors, expands outreach with downtown practice space
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Summary
High school team reported state-level awards, a new downtown practice and outreach to nearly 300 students across district programs; the board was invited to the new facility and upcoming FLL showcase.
Royal Oak High School’s robotics team told the district board on May 8 that the program won multiple awards this season and has grown into a district-wide STEM pipeline serving roughly 300 students.
Senior Sarah Milligan described competition successes: Engineering Inspiration at a local Ferndale event, the Impact Award at another local event, and at the Michigan state championship the team won Gracious Professionalism and the Woody Flowers mentor award for a longtime mentor, Zeland. "This is the first time we've ever won this award on our team, and we're all very proud," Milligan said.
Phoebe, a sophomore team member, said the team now has a downtown facility across from the post office that houses a full competition field and storage; the space has helped the team increase practice quality and host other teams. She invited trustees to visit Tuesday practices and to the FLL showcase on May 15 at 4 p.m. at the downtown facility (205 West Second Street).
Mentors and students reviewed outreach programs that helped the team win community awards: K–12 programs (including a pre-K Discover program), districtwide fourth- and fifth-grade FIRST Lego League offerings, an FTC middle-school program, weekend camps, RoboFest (an off-season middle‑school competition) and a virtual "Royal Robothon" for elementary students. Team mentors said the district now supports nearly 300 students across those programs, and the newly formed Royal Oak Robotics Foundation (a 501(c)(3)) will build an endowment to sustain growth.
Students demonstrated the current competition robot and described technical features including a swerve-drive base, a multi-stage elevator and an articulating arm used to place game pieces. The team also showed a student-built touchscreen control dashboard used to auto-position the robot during matches.
Why it matters: the program provides hands-on STEM experience and districtwide outreach; trustees praised the mentorship and asked about opportunities to support and visit the new site. The board received an invitation to the FLL showcase and heard that sponsors, alumni and a foundation effort are funding future expansion.
