Who we are
OtterBots is FTC Team 36009, associated with Lewis Middle School and participating in the San Diego FTC region.
FTC Team 36009 // Lewis Middle School
Built as a raft.
Otters thrive together. So do young engineers. OtterBots brings students, mentors, families, and shared tools into one learning community where curiosity becomes confidence and every student helps move the team forward.
Why we build
We use robotics to help students practice problem solving, technical communication, teamwork, and the courage to learn unfamiliar things.
How we learn
Students own the question, tradeoff, test, and explanation. Mentors create safe challenges and share experience without taking authorship away.
Our mission
Empower human ambition.
We help young people discover that difficult problems are invitations. With patient mentoring, shared knowledge, and hands-on engineering, students can imagine more, learn faster, and build things that once felt beyond possible.
Small Hands. Big Futures.The frontier moves when students learn to ask better questions, work as a team, and trust their ability to create.
Student ownership
Everyone carries part of the raft.
Roles grow from real work rather than titles alone. Students design, build, program, drive, test, document, explain, and teach—with decisions reviewed as a team.
Own a question
Define the problem, constraints, and evidence needed to make a decision.
Build together
Share subsystem context, review tradeoffs, and make integration visible.
Teach it forward
Document the setup, result, failure modes, and next step for another student.
What guides us
Curious minds. Shared momentum.
DiscoveryAsk questions and learn unfamiliar tools.
InnovationUse creativity and persistence to solve real problems.
ImpactTurn learning into resources others can use.
InclusionMake technical work understandable and invite every voice.
TeamworkShare ownership, review decisions, and help partners succeed.
FunCelebrate the experiments, progress, and people behind the robot.
Nearby robotics community
Learn from the teams around us.
OtterBots links students to nearby robotics programs and high-school examples without implying that every team shares the same legal organization or tax identity.
Patrick Henry High School
Patribots · Team 4738
Patrick Henry High School's robotics team and a nearby example of student-led engineering.
Visit patribots.org →OtterBots organizationMission Trails Robotics
Organization information published specifically for OtterBots sponsorship records.
View OtterBots organization details →01
Open learning
Code Lab
Interactive FTC Blocks diagrams, downloadable programs, math explainers, and plain-language documentation.
Explore Code Lab →02Shared practice
Roblox Simulation
A public environment for learning field landmarks, practicing decisions, and discussing BIOBUZZ strategy.
Launch the simulation →03Official sources
FTC Resources
Current FIRST materials for team development, safety, robot building, programming, and season preparation.
Open resources →Evidence boundary: Student and mentor rosters, recruiting details, outreach results, and personal contact information will be published only when the team has approved, consented, current content.