Hey everyone. This year will be my first time going to the world championships in Houston, and I’m looking for people to give me ideas on cool stuff I should see or do while there. Thank you in advance!
If you plan on going to NASA (Johnson Space Center/Space Center Houston) and want to do the tram tour, buy a tour ticket in advance first! The museum of natural sciences is pretty cool too
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See
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I’m looking specifically for stuff at the championship to see, not around Houston. Thank you though!!!
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At Champs:
Find the time to attend one or more conference sessions.
Drop by the Innovation Fair (AKA sponsor show-off zone).
Visit FTC and FLL areas, not just FRC.
Unwind on the Discovery Green; this is part of the event area even though it’s outside the security checks.
Don’t forget to wander the pits.
You may have opportunities for various meetups, shown when you sign in. Do at least one.
You could volunteer… which will pretty much negate the time for all of the above, in my experience.
Skip: in-person Einstein.
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There are many volunteer roles at the Championship which are not for the entire event*. If you’re attending all public open days of the Championship (Wednesday) and not competing, I highly encourage you to volunteer for at least two of those four days. Volunteering at the Championship is really fun, you’ll get fed good food during your shifts, get lots of swag, meet some really cool people from all around the world, and, depending on your role, get to see some robot action up close.
*Note that some roles require a longer commitment and some roles require experience doing the same role at a prior event in the current season, so flexibility in your referencing is key.
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Why skip Einstein?
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It’s not worth it tbh. It’s loud, really slow, and you’ll be watching a TV screen instead of robots.
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Also
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Do it once just to say “You were there”. Not worth doing it every year.
Source: Been at worlds every year since 2016
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Exactly.
Now, with that said, if you just so happened to get a Saturday AM volunteer shift, the volunteer watch party is a pretty cool thing. Otherwise, back to the hotel and chill with the stream on. (Or do the watch party then the hotel.)
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People here have already provided great examples of things to do, but I’d also recommend getting the FIRST Championship app to make sense of it all. There’s so much going on at all times, that it can be hard to fit in everything that you want to do.
Also, If you want to do pin collecting, do it early in the event, and plan to walk the pits multiple times to get all the ones you want. Teams run out super fast at Champs, and restocking is a constant struggle.
And if you want to meet Dean, keep an eye out, he tends to wander the pits at some point during the middle of the event.
That sounds fun, but I’m more looking forward to meeting you and your amazing team!!! 
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Come check out 2910’s robot!
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Look at all your favorite robots from around the world and learn as much as you can from the teams that built them.
Make friends and meet people.
I disagree, especially for a first-time champs attendee. I think the unique level of energy and spectacle of watching Einstein in person is something every champs attendee should experience at least once.
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Counter to the popular opinion, I recommend against going to WCMP alone as a student. Part of the fun is the people you’re with and the people you meet. Going alone means you’re relying on the meeting part, but most school teams won’t absorb you for the trip, and non-student volunteers won’t (shouldn’t?) either.
I’ve been three times now - in 2022, I went for work to present a conference session, not with a team, and it wasn’t particularly engaging.
In 2023, we won HOF, and being part of the team was core to that experience. We were invited to go hang out with other people, but I had more fun sitting on the floor of our hotel lobby eating icecream with our students.
In 2024, we (accidentally) won Einstein, but as an adult, I was able to bounce around seeing old friends, meeting new people, and doing new stuff. The energy of watching Einstein was insane, but in all honesty, that was mostly due to the fact that we were playing - it was far better than the previous two years, for me.
I think that, like most things in FIRST, the point of the event is the people there, and as a solo student, you’re missing out on most of that.
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True, but most (including many of the Einstein teams competing) are not really watching the match “in person”. Best you can do is watch the giant monitors if you are trying to follow the on field action vs the in stands actions 
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Luckily I don’t have to worry about that. Because I’ll have my team with me.
On top of the “entertainment” taking up large blocks of time, it just isn’t worth it. The experience is better online, IMO.
You could go for a bit and then disappear to watch online.
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Everyone has their own preferences, which is cool, but my opinion on this one is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Even after attending 20 Championships, I still find Einstein absolutely electric. The atmosphere is on par with attending a major sporting event or a massive concert. The lights and sounds are phantasmagoric. The stands are jam packed with tens of thousands of people who all have a shared passion. You get to see the best robots in the world play at the highest level of the season (which is especially wild if you’re on a team who aspired to get to that level). The moments when the crowd explodes because of a big play or surprise always induces goosebumps. You get to watch the post match reactions, and sprints people make when they realize they have 7 minutes to fix their robots or come up with a new strategy. And there’s nothing quite like the moment when new Champions and the new Impact award winner are crowned; you get to witness unbridled joy on achieving a goal, a goal you can truly understand because it was your goal at some point in time.
So yeah, if it’s your first time at Champs, absolutely go watch Einstein. Soak it all up and enjoy the experience. Scream like crazy and dance like no one is watching. It’s something special.
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