Why do teams voluntarily do FIRST without adult technical mentors?

[dubious elise]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

In my mind, can a engineer design something on a robot and be proud of that design? You bet.

I could not agree more with that statement. In 2004, we got ourselves in to a bit of a jam trying to figure out how to hook onto the bar effectively and without taking up too much weight. A mentor that had just recently "joined forces" with our team took our problem and began brainstorming designs with a group of kids. In the end, we came out with a lengthy, strong, aluminum arm that helped us to win the Midwest Regional (of course, with the help of your team, Andy, and team 930!). That mentor was so proud of the creation that he has offered, on multiple occasions, to take the arm back if we ever (heaven forbid) scrap the robot so that he could hang it over his fireplace like a prizewinning muskie.

Of course, mentors are necessary to help a team function. I could not imagine having students doing everything from booking hotels to packing meals to welding the frames perfectly square to wiring the robot perfectly the very first time. As much as I hate to admit it, FIRST just isn't that simple. And of course, as many have said, mentors are there to help, not to hoard.

Originally Posted by Arefin

When someone tells me the word "mentor" I think of someone who will be there to teach me, and then watch over my shoulder when I am building cool things. If it is not possible for me to design or machine a part, or code certain section, then the mentor take over and solve the problems. I have seen many teams work like that. The students love it, because they get the best out of the program.

To build on Arefin's quote, mentors can also be there learning alongside the students. Every year, just working on strategic puzzles to simplify each game helps tremendously. Mentors don't frequently have experience in this area, so students and adults are on a very level playing field. For this year's game, we made up red and blue cards to fit onto squares on a 3x3 board (like the field!) and we would have 20 second "matches" between mentors and students alike to see who could place the squares in the best patterns on the field. Even though our robot wasn't as fast at stacking as we had been about laying down cards, we learned some crucial strategy-oriented maneuvers that helped us to win a number of matches.