About

- Mission Statement -
To promote, connect, fund and support activities that invigorate student interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers, through hands-on learning and industry expert instruction.

ThunderDogs FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 5613 is an Otero County New Mexico community team
Formed in 2014 & welcomes all Otero County teens ages 13-18
Members learn about STEM from industry experts
Members work together and have fun demonstrating learned skills by creating functional robots

- Competitions & Awards -

FIRST was founded in 1989 by inventor and entrepreneur, Dean Kamen, with inspiration and assistance from physicist and MIT professor emeritus, Woodie Flowers. Kamen was disappointed with the number of kids—particularly women and minorities—who considered science and technology careers, and decided to do something about it. As an inventor, he looked for activities that captured the enthusiasm of students, and designed a robotics program combining the excitement of sports competition with science and technology. The FIRST Championship is the culmination of the FRC competition season, and occurs in late April each year. Roughly 600 teams participate at each championship and The ThunderDogs home Championship location is Houston TX.