Programs
At the Firewheel STEM Institute, students participate in a diverse, vertically integrated set of hands-on STEM programs that span elementary school through advanced engineering. Our offerings include a FIRST Tech Challenge team and a FIRST Robotics Competition team, where students design, build, and program competitive robots while developing technical, leadership, and project-management skills. At the highest level, Firewheel hosts a RoboNation RoboSub Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team, tackling real-world challenges in autonomy, sensing, and underwater robotics. We also support early STEM engagement by hosting a FIRST LEGO League qualifying tournament that introduces younger students to engineering and teamwork. In addition, Firewheel founded and operates the National Underwater Robotics Challenge (NURC), expanding access to underwater robotics nationwide. Firewheel STEM Intirtute also hosts an annual Jeep Hack, where students collaborate with engineers and volunteers to modify ride-on Jeeps for children with lower-extremity mobility challenges, applying engineering skills to create life-changing assistive technology.
FIRST Tech Challenge Team
Binary Bots
Binary Bots is a student focused FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team where middle and high school students design, build, and program competition robots while embodying FIRST’s core values of Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition®. As an in-house team at the Firewheel STEM Institute, Binary Bots provides equitable access to hands-on STEM learning for students from diverse backgrounds, many of whom would not otherwise have access to advanced robotics programs. Team members develop technical skills in mechanical design, CAD, electronics, and software while learning to collaborate respectfully, manage projects, persevere through challenges, and support fellow teams both on and off the competition field. Through iterative engineering, mentorship, and community outreach, Binary Bots fosters confidence, integrity, and teamwork—preparing students not only for success in competitions, but for future careers and leadership in STEM.
FIRST Robotics Competition Team
Degrees of Freedom
Degrees of Freedom (FRC Team 6413) is a student focused FIRST Robotics Competition team where high school students design, build, and program industrial-scale robots to compete in an intense, international engineering challenge. Operating like a real engineering firm, team members take on roles in mechanical design, electrical systems, software development, strategy, project management, and outreach while working alongside dedicated professional mentors. Through rapid iteration, collaboration, and high-stakes competition, Degrees of Freedom students develop advanced technical skills, leadership, confidence, and resilience. The team is committed to expanding access to high-level STEM opportunities and exemplifies FIRST’s core values of Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition®, preparing students for college, careers, and meaningful participation in the modern STEM workforce.
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Robonation Robosub Team
Desert WAVE
Desert WAVE is an elite, student focused Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) team at the Firewheel STEM Institute where students design, build, and program fully autonomous underwater robots to operate in complex, real-world marine environments. As an all-women team competing in the international RoboSub competition organized by RoboNation, Desert WAVE integrates advanced mechanical systems, embedded electronics, computer vision, autonomy, controls, acoustics, and sensor fusion to solve challenges in navigation, buoyancy, underwater communication, and mission execution. Team members work with industry-level hardware and software, follow professional engineering workflows, and engage in rigorous testing and iteration—developing the technical expertise, leadership, collaboration skills, and resilience needed for careers in robotics, ocean engineering, and other advanced STEM fields.
FIRST LEGO League Tournament
Firewheel Microchip Qualifing Tournament
The Firewheel STEM Institute and Microchip Technology have partnered to hold a FIRST LEGO League Robotics qualifying tournament. The competition is a high-energy, hands-on STEM event that introduces students ages 4–16 to real-world engineering and innovation through LEGO-based robotics. As part of the global FIRST LEGO League program, teams design, build, and program autonomous robots to complete themed missions, research real-world problems, and present creative solutions, all while developing critical thinking, coding, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. Guided by FIRST’s core values, the competition emphasizes teamwork, innovation, and gracious professionalism, creating an inspiring and accessible entry point into robotics and STEM pathways for young learners across the community. Winners of the tournament go on to the sate championships held at Arizona State University.
National Underwater Robotics Challenge, NURC
The National Underwater Robotics Challenge (NURC) is a hands-on, student-centered engineering competition that challenges middle school, high school, and collegiate teams to design, build, and operate underwater robots to complete real-world inspired mission tasks. Participants apply principles of mechanical design, electronics, buoyancy, propulsion, sensing, and programming as they test their vehicles in a pool-based competition environment that simulates challenges found in ocean exploration, inspection, and marine technology. NURC emphasizes iterative engineering, teamwork, problem-solving, and technical communication, providing students with authentic exposure to underwater robotics and preparing them for future careers in advanced STEM and maritime engineering fields.
Firewheel Magical Motors Jeep Hack
In keeping with its mission to bridge the STEM divide, Firewheel STEM Institute partners with Magical Motors to provide mobility experiences for children with lower-extremity disabilities such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. The program brings together students from Firewheel’s three in-house robotics teams alongside community volunteers to modify toy electric ride-on Jeeps, converting traditional foot pedals into custom hand-controlled steering-wheel systems that children can operate independently.
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For many of these children, access to powered mobility devices like motorized wheelchairs is limited or nonexistent due to high costs and lack of insurance coverage. While a modified toy Jeep is not a permanent medical solution, it offers something profoundly meaningful: the ability to move independently—often for the first time in their lives. This experience provides a powerful psychological and emotional boost, fostering confidence, joy, and a sense of agency, while demonstrating how engineering and compassion can come together to create life-changing impact.