Viking Robotics strives to promote teamwork, creative thinking, and gracious professionalism while engaging youth in fun all encompassing activities involving robots.

Our Team

Viking Robotics was founded in 2008 by Craig Nielsen, the engineering teacher at Ballard High School. Mr. Nielsen heard about FIRST from the Seattle School Districts vocational director who motivated him to start the program for the school and the Ballard community. Since its creation the team has allowed students to explore their interest in mechanics and technology. Many students also see it as a social gathering among like-minded people.

Ballard's history is closely tied to the Scandinavian roots of its population, which is the source of the viking theme in our team. Today, Ballard is a heterogeneous community that maintains a small town feel, especially in the residents pride and commitment to education. Ballard High School has earned a strong reputation for its academics and extracurricular programs, to which FIRST Robotics is a welcome addition. The key goal of the Viking Robotics team is to encourage students to get excited about engineering and technology. As excitement takes root, we hope more students will embrace engineering and technology studies in high school, university, and their careers.

Awards

• 2012 Website Excellence Award
• 2012 Quality Award at the Spokane Regional
• 2012 Seattle Olympic Regional Champions
• 2012 Coopertition Award at the Seattle Olympic Regional
• 2011 Imagery Award at the Seattle Cascade Regional