By The Numbers
300+ Alumni, of which over 95% go on to higher education, including universities such as MIT, Caltech, and UC Berkeley
Introduced over 50,000 people to FIRST Robotics through our outreach events.
4 of our Mentors have received the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award for excellence in mentoring.
4 of our students have received the Dean’s List Finalist Award for outstanding team leadership.
3x Regional Winners
5x Regional Finalists
Our Mission
To educate and inspire high school students to become the next generation of science and technology leaders by building a competitive robot through the guidance of professional mentors, corporate sponsors, and parents in alignment with FIRST core values.
About Team 980
FRC Team 980 ThunderBots is a 501(c)(3) educational corporation
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 980 was founded in September 2001 in La Cañada-Flintridge, CA, with 10 students and 3 mentors. As of the 2024 build season we have 45+ students and 10+ mentors and are situated in the STEAM Lab at Burbank HS, partnered with the BUSD NAF Academy. Our move to BUSD finally brings FIRST Robotics onto a Burbank campus and charts a course for Team 980’s sustained growth over the coming years.
Team 980 Students:
- Use a state-of-the-art machine shop to learn manufacturing skills and gain hands-on experience in a high demand environment.
- Use industry leading 3D design software to create mechanical drawings and assemblies.
- Gain experience working with electrical components, circuits, and computer coding.
- Develop budget, presentation, and other entrepreneurial management skills necessary to run a small business.
- Work as a team, learning how to guide others and become strong leaders.
Our Community
Team 980 is working to bring robotics education to every student in BUSD. We mentor FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams and are working to get FLL into every elementary and middle school in BUSD. We are developing new robotics/STEAM outreach programs to engage the community and help local businesses support robotics education for Burbank students. We also participate in the ABC7 / Southern California Firefighters Toy Drive, giving back to our community.
Wish List
Upgrade swerve drive modules for drive train: $4000
Includes back up drives and/or swerve drives for second competition or demo robot
Portable Competition Pit: cabinets, storage, work surfaces: $3,000.00
New Mill for machine shop: $4000
Pop Up / Tent for Outreach and STEM events: $400
Annual Operating Budget
| Income: 28,000 | Expenses: ($26,316) |
| Sponsors: $20,000 (estimated) NASA/JPL, Walt Disney Company, Raytheon, Gene Haas, others (sponsorships pending) |
Event Registration Fees: ($9,000) covers two Regional Competitions |
| Corporate Grants: $2,000 | Off Season Events: ($1,000) |
| Team Fundraising: $6,000 | Insurance, IT services: ($3,184) |
| Shirts, promotional materials: ($3,500) | |
| Parts, materials, tools, etc.: ($9,632) |
Additional Expenses
If Team 980 qualifies for Championship: $15,450
- FIRST Championship Registration: ($5,950)
- Travel, ground transport, hotels: ($9,500)
If you would like to help ourt team out and become a sponsor, please sign up by fillingl out the form here so we have your information and can contact you about how you can help. (Form not ready yet)