Interested in getting involved?
Please contact our lead mentor, Kristen McAdams, with any questions.
Season Information
The Chickadees’ tenth competition season kicked off on January 4, 2025. The team attended the Idaho kickoff event at Boise State, hosted by Idaho FIRST.
Our team will be competing at this year’s Idaho Regional Competition. It will be held March 27 – 29 at the Ford Idaho Center with over 60 national and international FIRST teams.
This year’s REEFSCAPE challenge immerses teams in an ocean-themed challenge focused on the exploration and conservation of coral reefs. Teams design and build robots to interact with game elements representing coral and algae, aiming to score points through strategic gameplay. More information about the challenge can be found HERE.
Coaches / Mentors
-
Ann Delaney
Lead Mentor
Ann is the director of the SAGE Scholars program in the College of Engineering at Boise State. She is also the Academic Advisor for the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department. SAGE Scholars is a scholarship program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which provides a combination of academic advising, professional development, social support, and scholarship funding to low-income first-year students in Engineering and Computer Science. Ann also teaches introductory engineering courses for first-year engineering students (including those in SAGE Scholars). Ann earned her BS and MS in Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) from Boise State (in 2014 and 2016, respectively) and has been involved with the MakerLab, Society of Women Engineers club (she is currently the advisor), and the University Innovation Fellows program. She decided to pursue engineering because she liked math and science in high school and saw some cool Materials Science demos at outreach events like the Engineering and Science Festival. Ann enjoys knitting, playing with her two puppies, reading, and being outside. Ann loves teaching and mentoring students, so feel free to ask her questions!
Ann is the director of the SAGE Scholars program in the College of Engineering at Boise State. She is also the Academic Advisor for the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department. SAGE Scholars is a scholarship program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which provides a combination of academic advising, professional development, social support, and scholarship funding to low-income first-year students in Engineering and Computer Science. Ann also teaches introductory engineering courses for first-year engineering students (including those in SAGE Scholars). Ann earned her BS and MS in Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) from Boise State (in 2014 and 2016, respectively) and has been involved with the MakerLab, Society of Women Engineers club (she is currently the advisor), and the University Innovation Fellows program. She decided to pursue engineering because she liked math and science in high school and saw some cool Materials Science demos at outreach events like the Engineering and Science Festival. Ann enjoys knitting, playing with her two puppies, reading, and being outside. Ann loves teaching and mentoring students, so feel free to ask her questions!
-
Kristen McAdams
Kristen is the Program Manager for Girl Scouts of Silver Sage, where she is dedicated to empowering girls in STEM, leadership, and community impact across Southern Idaho. With a BS in Cell Biology and a PhD in Plant Biology, she has a strong background in education, having taught plant biology and phylogenetics at both the University of Georgia and the College of Western Idaho. Passionate about mentoring, Kristen helps guide girls of all ages to explore their passions and make a difference in the world. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, weightlifting, and spending time with her family.
Kristen is the Program Manager for Girl Scouts of Silver Sage, where she is dedicated to empowering girls in STEM, leadership, and community impact across Southern Idaho. With a BS in Cell Biology and a PhD in Plant Biology, she has a strong background in education, having taught plant biology and phylogenetics at both the University of Georgia and the College of Western Idaho. Passionate about mentoring, Kristen helps guide girls of all ages to explore their passions and make a difference in the world. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, weightlifting, and spending time with her family.
-
Ken Weddel
-
Shawn Levesque
About The Chickadees, FRC Team 5871
Who We Are
The Chickadees, FRC Team 5871, are a girl-founded FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) team sponsored by the Boise State University College of Engineering. The Chickadees are an inclusive team that is open to all genders, races, ethnicities, and abilities. We aim to inspire future generations in STEM by ensuring that all members take an active role in team leadership and all aspects of building the robot and running the team. This team was founded, in part, to inspire girls to enter STEM fields where they have historically been underrepresented.
Our team is open to students from all over the Treasure Valley. The university provides many of our adult mentors who teach us all the aspects of building a robot. More importantly, though, the team is student-led and mentors are there to guide the students, but students build all aspects of the robot without direct assistance from mentors.
We believe that what some might consider failures are just learning experiences and that it is important to consider everyone’s ideas. We also believe that our team is more than robots. We impact our community by volunteering at STEM days, helping Girl Scouts earn their robotics badges, and helping referee at local FIRST Lego League tournaments.
Our Story
Our team was founded in 2015 by FIRST alumna Christine Chang as a response to the under-representation of girls and women in STEM fields, especially at the high school level. In its first year, the team consisted of seven active members who had little or no experience building robots, but they were passionate about STEM.
Since then, the team has impacted over 30 students, encouraging them to develop important skills that enable them to become future leaders. Despite some setbacks (such as a fire that destroyed our workspace right before our second competition season), we have grown and flourished since, never-ending a competition season empty-handed. In the past four years, we have brought home a Safety Award, three Judges’ Awards, and a Team Spirit Award for our outstanding practices and perseverance.
Our Mission
The mission of The Chickadees, FIRST® Robotics Team 5871, is to provide opportunities through STEM for young people of all genders to nurture and unveil their potential, achieving success in every aspect of life.
Student Leadership
Team Co-Captains: Addie S. and Corrina B.
Technical Leads
- Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Lead: Maia R.
- Documentation Lead: Abby P.
- Electrical Subteam Lead: Kate S.
- Mechanical Subteam Lead: Olivia G.
- Programming Subteam Lead: Reganne W.
- Safety Captain: Natasha N.
- Scrum Master: Abby W.
Community Relations Leads
- Finance Lead: Reganne W.
- Marketing Lead: Camille S.
- Outreach Co-Leads: Vani F. and Claire K.
Contact Us
Physical Address (Workspace):
1310 West University Drive
(Copper Basin Building)
Boise, Idaho 83706
Volunteer Opportunities
Become a Mentor!
Another way that you or your organization can support our team is through becoming a mentor!
We are always open to new mentors at any time of year! If you are an undergraduate, graduate student, or working professional who is interested in working with the team, please contact our Lead Mentor, Kristen McAdams.
Don’t have any experience with robotics? That’s not a problem! We have mentors for all aspects of the team, from technical aspects of the robot to community relations and business-related topics such as outreach and sponsor relations.
All volunteers must complete Youth Protection Program (YPP) authorization through FIRST as well as fill out an Authorized Volunteer Services Agreement, found here, and complete a background check and training related to working with minors through Boise State (more information about this will be provided by the Lead Mentor and Boise State covers the background check). To receive the volunteer form and get access to the required training to become a mentor, please contact our Lead Mentor, Ann Delaney.
STEM Outreach
Part of the mission of the team is to share what we learn through robotics and inspire the next generation of young people in STEM! We do this through a variety of outreach events every year.
Are you hosting a STEM outreach event that you would like to invite the Chickadees to attend? Please reach out to us!
Other Opportunities
Other Opportunities
Please check back later for future opportunities.
Calendar
Meeting Location Street Addresses
Copper Basin Building (COPR): 1310 University Drive, Boise, ID 83706
Harry Morrison Civil Engineering Building (HML): 1019 S. Euclid Avenue, Boise, ID 83706
Interactive Campus Map
http://maps.boisestate.edu/
Printable Campus Map
Printable BSU Campus Map
Useful Links
RoboLeague – an inspirational video
RoboLeague
Scrum as Project Management
Scrum
Chief Delphi (Fora!)
chiefdelphi.com
Team #1114 Simbotics Seminar Series (Lots of valuable training)
Chief Delphi Thread with YouTube Links
Idaho FRC Regional
https://idahofrcregional.org/
#FIRSTLikeAGirl
https://firstlikeagirl.com/
FIRST Ladies
http://www.ladiesinfirst.com/
Girls of Steel, Team #3504 (All-girls team in Pittsburgh, PA)
www.frc.ri.cmu.edu
Space Cookies, Team #1868 (All-girls team in Silicon Valley, CA)
http://frc.spacecookies.org/
Team Tators, Team #2122 (Local team in Boise, ID)
http://teamtators.org/
NASKcorpions, Team 2594 (Local team in Nampa, ID)
http://namparobotics.weebly.com/
Prior Season Highlights
Watch the 2022 Idaho Regional!
The Chickadees–along with 27 other teams–are competing at the 2022 Idaho Regional competition (April 1 -2). Live stream with chat, match scores, and rankings are on their Blue Alliance team page. Match schedules and webcast links may be found on the official Idaho 2022 FRC event page.
The Chickadees Win Concept Award; Watts Announced as Dean’s List Finalist
May 2021
The Rocky Mountain “Super Regional” Awards Show was held online May 13, 2021. The region includes Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and western Canada. In lieu of in-person game play, the 2020-2021 season was comprised of “at home” challenges.
The Chickadees won the Concept Award for the design of their game, “High-Seas Showdown.” The game is a pirate theme, calling for all hands on deck as teams defend their ship from enemy cannonballs, hoist and steer sails, unlock a treasure chest, and balance on a plank before boarding the enemy ship. The Concept Award “celebrates a team that creates an interesting, realistic game concept.”
Reganne Watts, team finance lead, programming lead, and incoming co-captain for the 2021-22 season, earned a spot as a Dean’s List Finalist. The Dean’s List award recognizes the “leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding secondary school students.”
Bayer Fund awards $3,000 Grant to The Chickadees
April 2021
“Bayer Fund recently awarded a $3,000 grant to FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 5871 – The Chickadees to support the team’s participation in the FRC competition and educational programs.”
Read the full Boise State article about the award.
Chickadees Win Judges Award at 2020 Utah Regional!
The Chickadees won the “Small but Mighty” Judges Award at the 2020 Utah FRC Regional competition!
Our team was recognized for our attitude, leadership, and community outreach, as well as for one of our core principles – the idea of “failing forward” and learning from our mistakes and struggles to improve and grow in the future. Thank you, Utah Regional Judges for this award!
Watch the Chickadees’ Games at the Utah Regional!
The Chickadees recently competed at the 2020 Utah Regional competition (March 5 – 7). You can find their match times, scores, and rankings on their Blue Alliance team page or the official Utah 2020 FRC event page.