Capitals Engineering

Our Mission:

Use FIRST robotics to build award winning robots and spread quality STEM educational opportunities throughout the Seventh-day Adventist school system.

Who Are We?

Heads bent over computers, people talking, a robotics playing field, and engineers discussing their build plans are just a few things you might find if you looked in the Sacramento Adventist Academy Computer Lab Monday through Thursday mornings. This Capitals Engineering Robotics team has been running for five years and has only improved with each passing year. “The team has a better understanding on the whole curriculum, especially in the area of Marketing”, says Mr. Wade, our Team Instructor and Chairman. We are all working very hard towards the goals we have for the team.

Our goal as a team is to spread FTC (First Tech Challenge) robotics around Seventh Day Adventist schools. Each member is in a smaller team, whether it be Marketing, Finance,  or Engineering, and each teams has their own goals in order to achieve the main goal.

Aside from all the hard work going on in robotics, there are plenty of benefits and fun to go around. As the Director of Marketing, Victoria Vang’s favorite part of robotics is the chance to learn the skills of marketing on a corporate level. Our Chief Executive Officer, Trinity Gallaher, says she enjoys the mental challenge and the design process. “It challenges the way we think and our level of understanding and creativity.” We love our school and want to help our students. In robotics, we get to learn something unique and real world lessons.

Heads bent over computers, people talking, a robotics playing field, engineers discussing their build plans, and a room full of joyful, hard-working students is what you would find if you looked inside our computer lab.

What is FTC?

It’s way more than building robots. FIRST Tech Challenge teams (10+ members, grades 7-12) are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Participants call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have!”

Guided by adult Coaches and Mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles (like keeping an engineering notebook), while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and sharing ideas. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and can be programmed using a variety of languages, including Java. Teams also must raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach for which they can win awards. Participants have access to tens of millions of dollars in college scholarships. Each season concludes with Super-Regional Championships and an exciting FIRST Championship.