Our Mission
To educate and inspire young people to become leaders in engineering, technology, and business by providing a premium experience through exploratory and competitive robotics programs.
Est. 2018

Community Support

STMA Robotics is a qualified non-profit and we receive no funding or financial support from the school district. Our programs are expected to serve 100+ primary and secondary students annually. We do collect modest student fees for our programs, but we have a commitment to make sure every student has a chance to participate, regardless of their status or background. STMA Robotics relies on team fundraising events and business sponsorships to close the massive gaps in funding.

Team Member Benefits

Students collaborate with mentors and coaches, who provide valuable knowledge about business and engineering. Our mentors are successful real-world industry professionals, and our coaches have 17 years of combined FIRST® Robotics Competition experience. This collaboration leads to the development of skills that students can carry forth into life beyond high school. They solve real-world challenges, foster teamwork, unleash creativity, and develop essential skills by designing, building, programing, researching, and enhancing presentation skills.

A Brief History

In 2017...

An FRC team is born

In 2017, a group of students petitioned the district to create a FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) team. Kris Rue and Roger Bovee, both Tech Ed teachers at STMA High School, along with several parents and community members heard the call and FRC team 7028 was formed.

In 2018...

Rookie Year

The 2018 season was the rookie year for team 7028, Binary Battalion. With much support from FRC team 4607, C.I.S. from Becker, and the Central MN Robotics Hub, team 7028 was awarded Rookie All Star at the Lake Superior Regional, earning them an invite to the FIRST® Championship in Detroit.

In 2019...

7028 Robotics

After seeing the success of team 7028, the coaches and mentors saw the benefits FIRST® programs bring to students. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, 7028 Robotics, was formed as a “Booster Club” to support team 7028.

Binary Battalion's second season saw the construction of one of their most iconic robots, Ozy-Mōld~iăs Philiăs (a.k.a Ozzy.) Ozzy was a unique design leading the team into a new era of competitiveness, earning the team their first invite to the MSHSL Robotics State Tournament.

In 2023...

Growth

After two years impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a successful FRC competition season, the members of 7028 Robotics wanted to expand availability of FIRST® programs in the STMA community. For the 2023-24 school year, FIRST® LEGO® League was added for students in grades 1-6, and FIRST® Tech Challenge was added for grades 7-9. With an expanded reach, 7028 Robotics rebranded as STMA Robotics and drafted a mission statement with a focus on all young people.

In 2024...

A new era of success

2024 brought many exciting successes for STMA Robotics.

Binary Battalion won the inaugural Granite City Regional, earning their second invite to the FIRST® Championship in Houston, where they would compete with 600 of the top teams from all over the world. The team went on to win the Curie Championship Division, and take fifth place in the world in the Einstein tournament.

STMA Robotics was recognized with the Outstanding Citizens Award at Albertville Friendly City Days.

The FIRST® Tech Challenge program was expanded to include three new teams, encompassing grades 7-12.