Our STEM programs
Intentional Innovation Foundation's array of volunteer-run programs provide an effective framework for teaming up students with technical professionals to co-investigate hard and exciting problems in robotics, culminating in an intense competition which anchors the experience.
Youth robotics teams
Our competitive youth robotics teams are effective mentor-based programs in which young people discover and develop a passion for science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM).
Triple Helix Robotics
Triple Helix Robotics is based in Newport News, Virginia and is considered a NASA Langley Research Center “house team.” Since its inaugural season in 2008, Triple Helix has competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition as Team 2363. The team’s additional sponsors include DoD STEM, Naval Information Warfare Centers (NIWC) Atlantic, TE Connectivity, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Newport News Public Schools.
NASA Knights
The NASA Knights are based at New Horizons Regional Education Center in Hampton, Virginia and are considered a NASA Langley Research Center “house team.” One of Virginia’s longest-running FIRST Robotics Competition teams, the NASA Knights compete as FRC Team 122.
Blackwater Robotics
Blackwater Robotics is based out of the J.P. King, Jr. Career and Technical Academy in Franklin, Virginia. Founded in 2005, Blackwater Robotics has competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge as Team 27248 since 2024, and previously competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition as Team 1610 from 2005-2024. Major sponsors of the team include Franklin Southampton Charities, BAE Systems, and the International Paper Foundation.
Youth robotics competitions
The Rumble is an annual offseason developmental FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) tournament which features as many as 32 high school robotics teams from Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia in one day of intense and fun competition. Free for spectators and open to the public, the event is an effective tool for strengthening and growing existing teams by providing them an experience that simulates a regular-season competition. With this opportunity to practice, these teams are more competitive in the next build and competition season because they better understand the mechanics of a tournament. Participating students win recognition, gain self-confidence, develop people and life skills, make new friends, and perhaps discover an unforeseen career path.
In addition, some Rumble competitors are pre-rookie teams– those who plan to register a brand-new rookie team for the first time in the upcoming season. To help these teams acclimate to competition, our event managers pair them alongside veteran competitors who share knowledge, experience, and resources like drive teams, pit crew members, and drivetrains.
Peninsula STEM Gym
The Peninsula STEM Gym is a community practice facility for youth STEM competition teams. Located in central Newport News, the Peninsula STEM Gym offers local student robotics teams a 2,500 sqft practice area for testing robot functionality and improving their game. Since its establishment in 2018, the facility has enabled teams to gain driving practice, discover ways to iterate and improve their robot designs, and better prepare to compete against other top Virginia teams as well as on the world stage. As a place for student robotics teams to develop competition robots and have real-world engineering experiences that will inspire a lifelong interest in science and math, the STEM Gym provides an indispensable service for the students of the Peninsula.
By providing our STEM athletes with a playing field for practicing their high-tech sport, we increase the likelihood that they can turn pro upon graduation!
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