FIRST Robotics team #217, the ThunderChickens, consists of 28 students from all four high schools in the Utica Community Schools district. Siemens and Electro-Matic are proud sponsors of FIRST Robotics, supporting the innovation and success of teams like the ThunderChickens. As one of the many outstanding teams in the program, the ThunderChickens exemplify the power of STEM education, teamwork, and community outreach.
Meet the Team: ThunderChickens
We have Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts, with over 5000 followers combined. You can follow their journey and updates on their socials:
How long has your team been competing, and what are some of your past achievements?
The ThunderChickens have been competing for 26 years. We have won the World Championship 3 times, a feat that only 2 other teams in all of FIRST have done. We are proud of the fact that we have won the Gracious Professionalism award 11 times, an award that celebrates outstanding demonstration of FIRST Core Values and working together both on and off the playing field.
Most recently, we won the Michigan District Championships in 2023.
What roles do different team members take on (e.g., programming, mechanical, strategy, outreach)?
The students are involved in 6 different departments inside the chicken coop:
- After the team develops the prototype concepts for each of the robot core functions, the Design department develops a detailed design in 3D CAD using SOLIDWORKS.
- The Manufacturing department is responsible for fabrication of custom designed components for the robot. The manufacturing department uses equipment such as the mill, lathe, CNC machines, and 3D printers (filament and resin).
- The Mechanical department fabricates and assembles most of the parts of the robot. They build the structure, chassis, and all mechanical mechanisms (gears, chains, sprockets, pneumatic cylinders, and more).
- The Electrical department designs, constructs, and manages the electrical, pneumatic, and control systems on the robot.
- The Programming department writes the robot code that controls the robot functions including autonomous routines used during the matches.
- The Strategy department is primarily a competition season function of the team which includes the drive team and scouting functions. At Kick-off and during the build season, strategy also helps to brainstorm all possible ways the game will be played to develop the requirements for the robot to be as competitive as possible. Scouting is a competition season activity that plans and conducts the collection of competitor data using custom programmed tablets for strategy and alliance selection.
- The Business department is responsible for a variety of functions including preparing for award submissions, team communications, sponsor relations, and outreach.
Each department has a Student Lead who is responsible for communication with the other departments, recruiting, and leadership & training within their departments. These students act as role models for new students and facilitate department agendas.
Here is our video we developed as part of our FIRST Impact award submission for 2025.
Partnership & Impact
*ThunderChickens' booth at Siemens & Electro-Matic's Manufacturing in America 2019.*
After the COVID pandemic, the team has experienced a reset after experiencing mentor turnover and a whole new generation of students. Over the past three years we have been working to establish a better defined and documented design and build process.
Each year we strive to understand what went well and what could have gone better. We have made great strides and expect to continue to do so this season.
A second effort is around better outreach and recruiting. This season for the first time we held an open house to invite prospective students and their families to see what our team is all about. We plan to learn from that experience to continue to reach out to students who are interested in learning about STEM.
