Engineering Inspiration

Hemlock’s Gray Matter is proof that big ideas can come from small places, and small teams can make a big impact. Our team comes from a rural one-stoplight town with a high school of just 330 students. Surrounded by farms and Friday night football, we work hard to be a guiding light for our team and the surrounding area to demonstrate that innovation, creativity, and technology have a place in every community.

Lockwood STEM Center

The Specs

- 12,000 square-foot facility
- Fully-equipped Machine Shop
- Full-sized Practice Field

KEEL Innovation Center

- - LEGO Lab
  - 3D Printing Lab
  - Programming Lab
  - Electronics Lab

We share FULL ACCESS to our facility with the 4 local teams in our cooperative.
Over 25 teams used our facility last year.

FIRST Programs

- 6 Explore (new in 2024)
- 1 Discover (new in 2025)
- 2 Challenge
- 1 FTC
- 1 FRC

Events

- Lunch and Learns
- STEMDust Days
- Great Lakes Bay Manufacturers’ Association and Central Michigan Manufacturing Association Meetings
- Brain Bowl

Next Gen STEM

46% of students are more interested in STEM after attending this event.
94% of students are more interested in attending a college or university after attending this event.
100% of teachers felt the event promoted learning & engagement
In partnership with Michigan Tech University and the Mind Trekkers traveling roadshow, we hosted:
- Over 50 STEM activities
- 1,400 students & community members

STEM Camps

Childcare STEM Camp- Partnership with the Hemlock Early Childcare Center to host a weekly STEM Summer Camp.
Programming/CAD Camps- We hosted two camps with 17 different teams and 100 participants.
Strategy Camp- We hosted a virtual session with Karthik Kanagasabapathy, the head of strategy for FIRST in Canada, with 7 other teams.

High Tech Talent Initiative

We aim to remove barriers to learning programming by building a website with clear instructions and videos to guide students, mentors, and teachers. The materials were created by students and first used in our High Tech Talent Initiative.

Started with a $50,000 grant from MichAuto
Expanded to $90,000 with the support of The Office of Future Mobility and Electrification
Completed 3 cycles to date
- 1st Cycle- 10 pairs of teachers received a robot kit and a 3D printer, along with training to implement their use in their classrooms.
- 2nd Cycle- 20 teachers received a 3D printer and training in CAD design.
- 3rd Cycle- 10 teachers received training in Micro:bit technology.
Participation from over 20 school districts
Reached over 1,000 students this school year
CAD and Code to build and program
Workshop 1- arm position control and Flywheel Velocity Control
Workshop 2- Limelight Vision System and CTR Swerve drives
Advanced Topics- Odom Shot, State Control, and LinearPath systems
Launched in September 2025
Reached over 10,000 viewers in over 21 different countries
Developed in partnership with Cross the Road Electronics, MichAuto, and the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification

Scholarships

Making Higher Education Affordable:

$5,000- Michigan Tech University: for 5712 team members
$15,000- SVSU: for any student within our cooperative
$125,000- Kettering University: for any student within our cooperative

Recruitment

FIRST Robotics is for EVERYONE. We set out to break the stereotypes.

Request teacher recommendations from EVERY subject area, not just math and science
New recruitment videos demonstrating ALL of the various subteams, not just mechanical and electrical
Higher visibility at open houses and freshman orientation
900% increase in recruitment this past year

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