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The Ammoknights were the First team in Idaho to register with FIRST. The team was started in 2004 through a coordinated effort of the GK12 National Science Foundation, Idaho State University, INRA, and Hillcrest High School instructors Richard Anderson and Curtis Thomas. The team was based out of Hillcrest High School in Idaho Falls, ID, then took up shop at The Technical Careers High School in Idaho Falls, ID, and eventually cam eto their current location at the Idaho Falls Community Youth in Action Center. The location provides access to the school's welding shop, construction shop, electronics room, CAD/Solid Works/Auto Desk lab, web lab, as well as all of the lab operators. the Ammoknights' team is open to any high school student within the Idaho Falls area. This policy was established to avoid discrimination and to avoid diluting potential funding sources. There are some requirements to be able to travel with the team to competition. One of the most important requirements is having and maintaining a 2.0, or C grade average, with no F's. The high school students must also help with fundraising, presentations, and assemblies. Students must be actively involved during the build. All students must also represent the schools that they go to and Idaho in a positive manner. The team members must obey all rules that are set up by the advisors and the school code of conduct.

 

During the first year, the team consisted of twenty-one students from both Hillcrest High School and Bonneville High School. The team had an exceptional year as a rookie in the game Triple Play. The Ammoknights produced an amazing robot and competed in the Pacific Northwest Regional. Not only did the Ammoknights have a great year, they also brought home the Highest Rookie Seed Award and ranked fifth overall in the Pacific Northwest Regional Competition.

 

The Following year the team promoted FIRST throughout Southern Idaho and helped increase the number of Idaho teams from two to eight. In addition, the team recruited students from Idaho Falls High School and brought the total team membership number to twenty-five.

 

Through a variety of marketing efforts and fundraisers, the teams in collaboration with the other Idaho teams, were able to raise sufficient funds to send all eight teams to the Pacific Northwest Regional. The Ammoknights team also participated in the Colorado Regional Competition.

 

In the 2006 "Aim High" game, the Ammoknights performed amazingly well although the team had a rocky time during the construction period. The robotperformed in the laboratory, but it experienced intermittent problems during the competitive events. Despite the setbacks the team had a great time and it was an excellent learning experience.

 

Throughout the summer and fall of 2006, the Ammoknights were actively involved in promoting FIRST throughout Idaho and parts of Utah. The number of teams in Idaho increased to nine. Through the team's efforts the number of Utah teams increased from two to three. The team gave a presentation to the Department of Energy INL (Idaho National Laboratory) and several other large organizations in an effort to establish sponsorships and long term funding sources for Idaho FIRST teams. The efforts resulted in a $100,000 grant for all of the teams in Idaho, with an additional $2,000 per team in the fall of 2007. In addition, representatives from the Ammoknights met with the Idaho Governor's Council on Science and Technology to establish governmental funding, not only for existing teams, but to encourage broad participation from high schools throughout the state. The team also began the process of establishing an IRS designated 501 (c) 3 non-profit entity to help sustain teams in the future years.

 

The Ammoknights had another successful season in the 2007 game "Rack 'N Roll." Although experiencing minor setbacks in the Pacific Northwest Regional, their competitively engineered robot was able to make it into the final rounds at the San Diego Regional. They also came away from both regional competitions with the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award for their comprehensive business plan and vision for the expansion of FIRST in the Rocky Mountain Region. Thanks to the expanding community support and recognition for the FIRST program, the local school district passed a bond enabling the Ammoknights' facilities to be doubled in size over the summer of 2007.

 

Over the summer and fall of 2008, the Ammoknights continued to spread the FIRST message through various marketing strategies and fundraisers. They participated in many community events such as teaching classes at the NASA Space Camp, presented in the INL Science Expo, assisted in local robotics competitions, and participated in the Idaho Falls 4th of July Parade. As well as actively participating in the community, the Ammoknights worked hard and established the Rocky Mountain Robotics Coalition 501 (c) 3 non-profit. By creating this foundation we have a support system for robotics teams in Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.

 

The 2009 Ammoknights competed at the Oregon regional, and won the Chairman's Award. This led them once again to the International Competition in Atlanta, Georgia. During the fall of 2009, the Ammoknights started putting together the Seasonal Globe Experiment kits as a STEM project for elementary students. The team also started to put a humanitarian project together, which will give children in third world countries a chance at an education.

 

The Ammoknights did well in the 2010 competition. The teams' efforts during  the build season landed them in the semifinals. They placed in the fourth alliance and came in seventh place overall. The team also won the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award due to their business plan. The Ammoknights worked year round to spread the awareness of FIRST by doing presentations, fundraisers, and hosting local robotics competitions. This recruited kids from surrounding towns, bringing the team to 30 members. In the summer of 2010, the team put together a robot camp to get more kids interested in FIRST. Not many kids came but it was a great success. During that summer, the team also finished a T-shirt cannon robot used at school sports games, assemblies, and presentations.

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The team had to move out of TCHS in 2020, after the competition was cancelled due to the pandemic. member numbers dropped from around 20 to less than 10, but the team held through and participated in FIRST in 2021 and the competition in 2022, working partially in TRHS and garages until moving to the CYA in 2023, with member numbers on an incline.

 

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