FIRST Robotics Team 1498: Built From the Ground Up in Macomb County

This brand new 4-H community robotics team is offered to all Macomb County youth of high school age.

Like anything they build, FIRST Robotics Team 1498 is starting from scratch. Their mentor and leader, Tom Line, is excited to see where the team goes.

This dedicated group of individuals was established in June 2024. It is a 4-H community team that is open to all Macomb County students — including scouts and homeschooled students.

All about the team

Photo courtesy of First Robotics

“FIRST Robotics Team 1498, which now goes by the name of The Polar Pilots, meets in Richmond, Michigan,” says Line. “We’re actually using my pole barn.”

Line has made some at-home renovations to prepare to host Macomb County students and mentors, including making his driveway into a parking lot.

“We’ve got 14 mentors from places such as Ford, Stellantis, ABB (a metro Detroit robotics company), and many others,” he says. “We’ve also got physics teachers, librarians, administrators and engineers.”

The mentors are volunteers and do not get paid in any way. He explains that many of the volunteers originally joined because their children got involved in the team.  They stayed for the comradery, love of mentoring and the thrill of competing with other teams around the world.

“The team is really about the partnership between students and mentors and to teach them side by side about what it looks like to work as a professional in this field,” says Line.

What’s next for the team

Photo courtesy of First Robotics

The Polar Pilots will enter 2-3 district competitions beginning in January. They will have six weeks to complete their robot. After that, they score points by doing well at each competition. Those points are what qualify them for the state championship.

“The state championship is at Saginaw Valley State University every year,” says Line. “If you’re in the top group at the state competition, you move onto Worlds, which is in Houston this year.  On our prior team we were one of only a handful of groups that had qualified to attended the state championship every year.”

Since this is a new team, Line explains that he not only teaches the students about building the robots but also about everything else that goes into the team. This includes creating a website, using social media and talking to sponsors.

“They don’t realize all the work that goes into it,” he says. “The kids need to create the website and the social media to gain sponsors. They also bring sponsors in to view the facility and show them around.  Learning how to effectively communicate is key for our team members, for both awards presentations and community outreach.”

How to join

If you’re interested in joining the team as a student or mentor or if you are interested in donating to the organization, you can email them at frc1498@gmail.com.

“We will be accepting members through January,” says Line. “That is when the game is released to teams so they can start building their robots.”

Line emphasizes the value of the experiences team members gain by working together toward a shared goal.

“It is appropriately called ‘The hardest fun you’ll ever have,’” he says. “Team members learn skills from CNC machining to programming, to outreach and communication.”

FIRST provides over $18 million in scholarships each year for students involved in the program who attend college.

“The amazing part is that at the end of each day, we usually need to ask the students to leave,” he says. “They get so invested that they want to stay as late as they can.”

Macomb County’s Other Robotics Teams

Macomb County has 20 FIRST Tech Challenge (middle school) teams and 24 FIRST Robotics Competition (high school) teams. Macomb County Planning and Economic Development team helped establish and now supports Macomb MARZ, which enhances opportunities for K-12 students to discover careers in advanced manufacturing and robotics.

The Macomb MARZ facility is moving into a new space, with a grand opening on October 18, 2024. It will host educational events, has a practice space and so much more.

For more information on living and learning in Macomb County, visit Make Macomb Your Home. Find more articles like this at Metro Parent’s A Family Guide to Macomb County.

Kari Zaffarano
Kari Zaffarano
Kari Zaffarano is a mom of one and Metro Parent's Audience Development Coordinator. She tracks down the best events every week and shares the inside scoop with families in print and online. She enjoys reading, traveling and exploring metro Detroit with her son.

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