Our mission is to inspire, encourage, and instruct the next generations of thinkers and problem solvers.
We started our journey in robotics as FIRST Lego League team #20687, the High Voltage Couch Bananas, in 2015. Coached by Chad and Amy Houck, the team was very successful, making multiple appearances at the world festival and even becoming finalists for the Champion’s Award at the 2017 FIRST Lego League World Festival. This is the highest honor in the competition, recognizing overall excellence in core areas like robot design, innovation, and core values​. Beyond their robot performance, they shared their knowledge through many outlets in their outreach to the community. They hosted workshops, traveled to school, and even made a full YouTube series for those learning robotics with the EV3 system.
In 2018, the High Voltage Couch Bananas moved up a tier in the FIRST continuum. They became FIRST Tech Challenge Team #14147, keeping their name, the High Voltage Couch Bananas, and built robots with aluminum instead of Legos. They kept up the good work, with their robot Karen winning many matches and awards at Idaho and Utah competitions. They used their FLL materials to create the Low Wattage Sofa Plantains FLL team, and continued their aid both the STEM and non-STEM communities. The team persisted when COVID-19 struck, keeping to their motto of “fall 7 times, get back up 8”. Unfortunately, Ultimate Goal was Coach Amy and Chad’s last season in FTC, as many team members graduated high school. This was when Coach Raj, who had joined the team for the 2020-2021 season, took the reins and built a new team.
Here we are, in 2024, going strong with FTC! This is our third year with the new team. Our team is currently made up of 8 members, 4 girls and 4 boys, along with 3 coaches. We have continued Chad and Amy’s legacy of innovation and inspiration. For the past two years our robots have won many awards and become robot game finalists every season. During the summer of 2024, we hosted a completely free STEM camp for students going to Title 1 schools, and we’ve continuing the efforts through clinics and STEM events. We are diving into this next season with confidence and determination that we will make it to the World Festival this year!
