Kickoff details and team RSVP
Cookie Clickers at the 2026 FIRST Championship in Houston, followed by photos from the Vermont FTC State Championship and our season. Vermont championship photos courtesy of UVM. Read about the Houston trip.
Meeting Schedule
- Off-season summer meetings: Sundays, 3:00 – 5:00 PM
- Regular season: Sundays, 3:00 – 5:00 PM, and Wednesdays, 5:30 – 7:30 PM, beginning Sunday, September 13 after the season kickoff on Saturday, September 12
Location: Beech Street School, 246 South Stream Road, Bennington VT 05201
Student Membership
Regular-season membership for 2026–27 is $250 per student. The fee covers regular-season registration, uniforms, and pizza on Wednesday nights. Out-of-town events are an additional cost of participation and are not covered by the membership fee. Depending on the event and available fundraising, additional costs may include registration, transportation, lodging, and meals.
A sliding scale is available.
Students and families are expected to follow our Code of Conduct.
See how Bennington Area Robotics organizes student participation in Roles and Responsibilities.
Upcoming Events
- Sat 9/12/2026, 11:30 AM — BIOBUZZ Season Kickoff at Manchester Community Library, co-hosted with Manchester Machine Makers; game reveal at noon
- Sat 1/23/2027 – Bennington Qualifier at MAUMS
Past Events
- Wed–Sat 4/29–5/2/2026 – FIRST Championship in Houston TX (18650)
- Fri–Sat 4/17–18/2026 – New England Premier Event at the Big E, West Springfield MA (32473)
- Sat 3/7/2026 – Vermont Championship at South Burlington HS
- Sun 2/15/2026 – Northfield Qualifier at Norwich University
- Sat 1/31/2026 – Bennington Qualifier at MAUMS
Teams
- FTC Team 18650: Cookie Clickers – formed in 2019, 1st ranked team and Inspire Award winner at the 2026 Vermont Championship. Engineering Portfolio.
- FTC Team 32473: Bennington Bolts and Biscuits – formed in 2025, 7th ranked team out of 25 at the 2026 Vermont Championship.
Links
- Bennington Area Makers, our host organization.
- FTC Decode, our competition for 2025-2026.
- FIRST Tech Challenge, the robotics league we compete in.
In the News
- 3/13/2026 – Bennington area robotics teams shine at Tech Challenge – Bennington Banner
- 3/9/2026 – Robots Rule the Gym – UVM CEMS (Chris Dissinger)
- 10/31/2025 – First and Foremost: A closer look at the FIRST youth robotics programs in Southern Vermont and beyond – Manchester Life Magazine
About Us
Bennington Area Robotics is a community-based youth robotics group, drawing middle and high school aged students from Bennington, North Bennington and Shaftsbury in Vermont, and Hoosick Falls, Cambridge and Petersburg in New York.
We participate in FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), an annual robotics competition where four robots race to collect and score game pieces on a 12’x12’ playing field.
Students design, build, and program their own robots to perform tasks and score points, working directly with technical mentors from the local community. They develop skills in mechanical engineering, programming, design, collaboration, and gracious professionalism (competing hard while helping other teams succeed).
Bennington Area Robotics is a program of The Bennington Area Makers, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with EIN 84-5124653. Donations are tax-deductible. How to donate. See our budget.
Team 18650 Cookie Clickers at the 2026 Vermont FTC State Championship.