CRyptonite had a great time in Austin last weekend, attending the FIRST Robotics UIL State Championships! After a set grueling qualification matches, which saw multiple 4 rotor matches, CRyptonite finished 5th in the state. Heading into eliminations, CRyptonite captained the 4th Seeded alliance, and were joined by FRC Team 1255, and FRC Team 2582. Although the team made an exit in quarterfinals, the team was excited to see multiple new changes to the robot work well on the field. Congratulations to the Winners, Robonauts, Black Hawk Robotics, and FRC Team 6547, and also congratulations to the finalist alliance, composed of Robotics Team 148 - Robowranglers, Texas Torque, and FRC Team 5417. You all serve as a source of inspiration for teams all over FIRST, and we are proud to be a member of #TeamTexas. CRyptonite and Nautilus will be competing at the Texas Robotics Invitational in June and the Texas Robot Roundup in late July!

CRyptonite ventured out to the Hub City Regional for the first time in our history, and was not disappointed. At the end of an extremely intense qualifications schedule, Team 624 was selected by Team 118 The Robonauts from Clear Creek High School. With 118 falling twice while climbing, the alliance pushed through quarterfinals, winning a tough tiebreaker against the number 6 alliance led by FRC team 418. With 624 getting rotors spinning, and 118 filling up the boiler, 624 won the first semis. However, 624 proceeded to lose the next two semis, led by a powerhouse alliance, included 3847 from Strake and 1477 from the Woodlands. Although losing the robot game, 624 succeeded in winning the Chairman's award, the most prestigious award in FRC. This award recognized our outreach efforts to spread our love of stem to as many people as possible. In addition, the award qualifies us for World Championships, and we are excited to compete at the Houston Champs in mid April!

Team 624 CRyptonite recently attended the Space Commerce Conference and Exposition, or SPACECOM for short, along with 3 other Houston-area FRC teams and the FTC teams at the George R. Brown Convention Center to promote the FIRST World Championships that will be held here for the first time in 2017. This was a wonderful opportunity for the Cinco students to meet some of the corporations currently leading in technological innovations relating to space exploration and witness how industries here are integrated into aerospace fields.

 Eleven students went to Lone Star College on November 12, 2016 for a demonstration planned by the Harris County library and the college to promote our STEM programs to young students and their parents. Our team brought VEX robots to play a scrimmage with 1477's VEX team and created lots of excitement among the audience. We also brought FLL robots and our Thor robot. The kids had a lot of fun chasing frisbees and Thor and were blown away by the FLL robots. Overall it was a great demo and we couldn't have done it without the parents who came, so thank you parents! Also a big thank you to Mrs. Bergbauer for inviting us to the event and CRyptonite hopes to participate in similar demos for many more years to come.

CRyptonite participated in the annual Halloween Food Drive on October 31, 2016 in a partnership with the Houston Food Bank to collect and donate canned goods from local residents. Some students went door-to-door around the neighborhood to collect extra food items while others hosted robot demos with Brimstone to entertain the young children dressed for the occasion, ready to collect candy. The food drive was very successful, surpassing the goal to collect 624 canned goods. CRyptonite hopes to continue this annual tradition to help give back to the community while instilling a passion and interest among young minds for science and robotics.