A five thousand dollar check from the  on October 25, 2024. Funds will be used by the team to compete during the 2025 season. Duke Energy has been a supporter of the team since its inception. Marion County Robotics TEAM 1051 consists of Marion County high school students and area mentors. The FIRST experience inspires young people by engaging them in an exciting mentor-based program that enhances science, engineering, and technology skills while building the students self-confidence, communication, and leadership skills.

TEAM 1051 has successfully competed in the FIRST arena since 2003, now in its 23rd season. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) experience allows Marion County high school students to participate in a project that reflects all aspects of a business. Students are involved in planning, fundraising, public relations, robot design and construction, inventory, finance, logistics, and time management. Students observe and work alongside technical and business professionals in a time-sensitive and highly technical robot build project. TEAM 1051 will compete in the Hartsville District event to be held at Coker College in Hartsville, SC, and the Charleston District Event at North Charleston, SC, during the months of March, 2025. This year 3,225 FIRST teams will participate in 150 world-wide events to include 80,600 high school students from 26 countries.

TEAM 1051 is based at the Academy for Careers and Technology and is an after school activity. The team actively searches for high school students and adults interested in participating. To obtain additional information or join the TEAM 1051 you can contact the Academy at (843) 423-1941.

Marion County FIRST Robotics Team 1051 (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an after-school program with emphasis on math and science. The culmination of this project is to build a robot to compete in regional FIRST event(s). All Marion County high school students are eligible to participate including public, private, on-line, and home-schooled students. Students work alongside practicing engineers and professionals in a time sensitive and highly technical competitive project. Marion County FIRST Robotics TEAM 1051 has successfully competed for the past seventeen years.

TEAM 1051 organizes mid-October for the upcoming competition season which normally begins the first Saturday of each January. Prior to the build window, students receive instruction in safety, hand and power tool usage, measurements, gear ratios, computer-aided drawing, and robot controller programing. The program allows students to be involved in a project that reflects all aspects of business. Students participate in planning, public relations, public speaking, robot design and construction, finance, logistics, and time management.

During the build portion of the project, January 4, 2020 - February 26, 2020, students meet a minimum of five times a week after school and weekends. Students normally attend a minimum of 100 hours during the build. Students are expected to participate in game strategy, design, construction, and programing. The team is registered to participate in the Palmetto Regional the first February 26 - 29, 2020, at the Palmetto Regional in Myrtle Beach, SC. The team wishes to attend the Smoky Mountain FIRST Regional in Knoxville, Tennesse should funds be available.

A high percentage of former team members of TEAM 1051 have and are attending post-secondary institutions. Past members attending these institutions credit participation in FIRST Robotics as their deciding factor for attendance. Also, students participating in FIRST tend to pursue engineering or technical-oriented majors.