History

Hilo High School Robotics STEM and Electronics Program (2004-2009)

2004:

The Hilo High School Robotics Club was founded in 2004 when Mr. Dale Olive of Waiakea High School persuaded Ms. Suzanne Cama and Mrs. Helen Nakamura to start a FIRST program.

Sponsoring the team in 2004 were Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) and Women in Technology (WIT) making it possible for entry and travel fees to be paid for with no fundraising. The team registered and was designated the Number 1378.

The regional they attended was the Portland Regional. Coming out of their very first FIRST season they accomplished much more than they had expected. During the first day of competition they came out ranked 4th in the region! The team made it to the quarter finals the following day, but their 2004 FIRST journey ended here giving them a final rank of 11th place; something for a rookie team to be very proud of!

2005: In concerns of raising money for travel and entry fees, the club members dutifully participated in fundraisers such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and even toilet paper! They continued to be sponsored by HELCO and WIT, while receiving donations from other various organizations and people. The club also worked at the Boys and Girls Club teaching kids a unit on robotics.

Despite doing immensely well their first year, this year proved to be a greater challenge, and unfortunately at the Las Vegas regional their robot ran into complications leaving them ranked 24. The robotics club disbanded shortly thereafter.

2006: After being inactive for a year, the Hilo High School Robotics Club was restarted by a physical science teacher, Mr. Tom Murphy. He was formerly a student teacher at Waiakea High School under Mr. Dale Olive in 2005-2006. Mr. Murphy started working at Hilo High School at the beginning of the school year.

In December they participated in their very first R.O.V competition titled BIRR.

Following 4 months later they participated in their very first Botball tournament as well. They came home with 2 awards, Inspiration for the Next Generation and a Judges Choice Award.

One week following Botball they participated in their second R.O.V competition titled BIRR (Big Island R.O.V Regional), and proved that they learned from their mistakes during the first competition. For the High School division they ranked 1st in score for the actual game, but fell to Kealekehe Inter/High School overall, leaving them with a final rank of 2nd. Though they were unable to qualify for the National R.O.V competition in New Foundland, Canada, they made immense improvements and took some great strides. Starting their first Outreach program, they mentored the Hilo Intermediate Robotics Team.

2007-2008: With a gain in membership and a 10,000 HELCO Grant for Outreach. The Hilo High Robotics Club restarted their FIRST Robotics program. New committees were created. The committees included:

• Public Relations
• Outreach
• Website

Public Relations promoted the club by creating flyers and advertising the club around the island. Outreach was to extend our mentoring to other schools on the Big Island.

The schools we did outreach were:

• Hilo Union Elementary
• Kaumana Elementary
• DeSilva Elementary
• Laupahoehoe Elementary
• Kalanianaole Elementary
• Kapiolani Elementary

The website was started by two students who shared the enthusiasm for promoting via the internet.

A new fundraiser was started and it was named: Camp Eureka. Camp Eureka is science and robotics camp to teach elementary students the basics of robotics so that they would join their respective schools robotics club.

Other programs they did are Botball and ROV.

2008-2009: Due to the lack of funding, the Hilo High Robotics club opted out of the FIRST competition. The only programs they were able to fund is the VEX robotics and Botball. The Hilo High School Robotics Booster was formed to help us fundraise and travel. This is a sad year for the robotics club because Mr. Murphy was one of the teachers that were being laid off from Hilo High School. Mr. Ryan Nakasato stepped up and became the new advisor.

Hilo Viking Robotics STEM and Electronics Program (2010 - Present)

2009-2010: The club is currently doing the VEX competition. Because of some financial liabilities, the parent booster was renamed to Hilo Viking Robotics and the club's name changed to Hilo Viking Robotics as well. The club is now facing a shortage of members; the majority of the club is students from the class of 2011. The club is trying their best to make their name known to the community by providing a new Camp Eureka curriculum and outreach.