• The Robotics program at Cactus High School is one of the premiere programs in Arizona and the only of its kind in the west valley. The program uses curriculum from the top robotics organizations in the country like FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and Technology) the REC Foundation (Robotics Education & Competition Foundation) VEX Robotics and The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Students will also have the opportunity to earn nationally recognized industry certifications and have the option to earn Dual Enrollment credits at Estrella Mountain Community College.

     

    In addition to the classroom opportunities we offer three different competitive robotics teams on campus, our FIRST Tech Challenge team, VEX Robotics Competition team and our premiere program FIRST Robotics Competition team. All three teams allow students to get hands on with all aspects of design, fabrication, assembly, programming, computer science as well as business foundations like creating a business plan, finance, public speaking and community service. The programs are assisted by Adult mentors from colleges and industry, providing their expertise to help the students along the way. Also being a part of these programs students can

     

    In the fall we kick off our FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and VEX Robotics Challenge (VRC) teams. Robots compete on a 12ft x 12ft field and the game/challenge changes each year. These robots are 18in x 18in and weigh around 35lbs.

     

    FIRST Robotics Competion (FRC) competes in the spring with kickoff happening right after the holiday break. Like FTC and VRC students are introduced to a new game/challenge and have only 6 weeks to design, build and test a robot before competing in a 3 day regional competition. FRC robots compete on a 38ft x 56ft playing field and weigh over 130lbs. FRC gives students real world experience of not only design and fabrication but goal setting, working with others and time management. In 2019 we won the Arizona West Regional and Engineering Inspiration Award, traveled to the World Championship and won our division and placed 4th overall. In 2020 we received the coveted Chairman's Award at the San Diego Regional, the highest honor in the FIRST Robotics Program.