In general, we're in the same predicament as you.

IA is supposed to be highly academically focused so- no shop, no machines, etc. We've gone to a few different facilities in the past to build our robot. (Oakland Unversity, Lahser High School, Motorama in Farmington, Ex-Cell-O). Currently we don't have a location to build at.


Last year we built our OCCRA robot in a professional business with some extra space. In fact, the same place that we built our FIRST robot. (Ex-Cell-O machining in Sterling Heights). In a worst case, if your school continued to not let you work in a classroom; is there anything keeping you from building your OCCRA robot where you built your FIRST robot?

We still managed to get lots of participation, despite all members living about half an hour to an hour away from Ex-Cell-O. The key is making the robot seem exciting- drive an old robot around during lunch. Usually people respond better to a working robot than just seeing people working on one. Then invite them to a meeting. They'd be more interested to see what's going on if they knew what the end was like.

As for finding a location- check with parents and see who they know. Maybe someone on your team has a connection to a machine shop or other location that could give you space.

And otherwise, I know absolutely nothing about the laws. But I hoped that helped a little, and that you find somewhere to build!