On Saturday, August 18, from 1pm to 3pm, FIRST Tech Challenge Team Duct Tape will be hosting a Library Robotics Teams Open House at Regency Park Branch Library , in New Port Richey, FL.  FIRST LEGO League Jr. Team LEGO Pros, which also meets at Regency Park Library, will also be on hand showcasing what they do.

FIRST LEGO League Jr. LEGO Pros has room for two to three students ages 6-9.  Team Duct Tape is a middle and high school level team, that currently has opening for 5-6 students.

About Team Duct Tape

Team Duct Tape members, in back, with members of FIRST LEGO League Jr. LEGO Pros in the foreground.

Team Duct Tape, now in its 11th season, is a FIRST Tech Challenge team that meets in New Port Richey, FL at Regency Park Branch Library.  Our goal is to provide a fun and empowering, hands-on, STEM education program for youth in the New Port Richey area.

Our guiding philosophy, from the Team Duct Tape Handbook under which FIRST Tech Challenge Team Duct Tape operates:

Our goal is to elevate character, teamwork, and academic and intellectual achievement above all else. We do not seek to win at all costs, but rather to give team members an enduring hands-on STEM experience that will serve them well into their futures. Putting character before competition has yielded a consistently high achieving team that reliably brings home trophies year after year, and is well regarded not just statewide but nationally.

Team Duct Tape currently has openings for up to 5 students, from the New Port Richey area, for the 2018-19 FIRST Tech Challenge season. 

To Apply:

• Students must live in Pasco County, in the New Port Richey area served by Regency Park Public Library
• Applications are in the 2018-19 Team Duct Tape Handbook , which student applicants and their families are encouraged to read thoroughly.
• Students must complete, on their own, and submit the application starting on page 9 of the handbook, to be considered for membership. Additional team documents and resources can be found on our Library page.

If you’d like to mentor or support the team, also please get in touch via our Contact page.

Sponsors and Mentors

Potential supporters can learn more at our Support TDT page. Mentors with experience in programming, mechanical engineering, CAD design, robotics, team building and related skills are always welcome. Our team members are always eager for learning opportunities at meetings and at field outings, so if you’ve got a skill or business you feel they’d benefit from learning more about, we welcome the opportunity to work with you in expanding team members knowledge and skill base, and enhancing their futures.

Students

If there are openings on the team, applications will be accepted through the end of August for new team members. To most enjoy the FIRST Tech Challenge experience, it’s important that potential members have a good sense of humor, unlimited imagination, unbridled curiosity and an interest in engineering, math or science. Past experience in robotics (BEST, Vex, Lego Mindstorm, Sumo, etc) is helpful but not necessary. Parents and family are a vital part of the team experience, and some family involvement and assistance is integral to our success, but we urge parents to be hands off with respect to student involvement on the team.  This is an opportunity for your child to have a full team driven experience, and to take responsibility for their part of the necessary teamwork.

We’re always happy to talk to students interested in FIRST robotics and to help you find teams or resources, or even help you build your own team.  You can learn more about FIRST program opportunities at the FIRST in Florida website, as well as find contacts in your area.