Destination DEEP SPACE!

The Destination Deep Space 2019 season officially began on January 5th. Breakaway 3937 had the privilege of hosting the Kick-off at Harding Academy, where 38 teams in Arkansas “launched” their season. It was hard work to set up for the Kick-off. We started the Friday night before and made sure everything was ready and perfect for the teams to arrive the next morning. We arranged the tables and prepared the Kit of Parts until Coach Jones was sure everything was ready. On Saturday morning we got to the school and opened the doors for the teams to come in.

All 38 teams assembled in the Harding Academy auditorium. While we waited for the game reveal, we played a few games like “FIRST Kahoot.” At 9:30 Central Standard Time, we joined the FIRST community around the world and watched the webcast. This year’s game is Destination Deep Space. We’ve been wondering for months what challenges we would face. Would we be building space ships? Would our robots have to fly? Thankfully, neither one, but the game does give a vibe of interplanetary range robots.

The main goal of the game is to place cargo (really kick balls) in rocket ships and cargo ships on the field then secure them with hatches (really large discs). The game will challenge us to find strategies for driving blind, receiving and lifting objects, and climbing steps. We can’t wait to see what our 2019 build team will develop to master this game!

After the game reveal, the teams moved to the gym where they got their Kit of Parts and started strategizing for the game. Then, we took a quick lunch break. After lunch, all the remaining teams attended classes taught by mentors in the Arkansas FIRST network to learn strategies for the year. It was a long day, but we weren’t finished yet. While other teams headed home, our entire team met to start working on our plans.

When Breakaway 3937 starts to strategize for new games, everyone plays a part. All 28 members met and gave input. We had a great and productive night full of debates and discussions. Since last weekend, we met together as an entire team one more time, and the build team has been meeting after school most days. But that’s all we can say right now. From this point until the robot reveal, our design is top secret!

We appreciate your following our blog. We will be updating our progress (except for the top secret progress) each week!

Thank you sponsors!