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Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana sponsors LEGO Robotics teams to compete in competitions. We have offered a LEGO Robotics program since 2008, and we now support 27 teams each year, impacting 100+ girls annually.
In the 2018 season, GCNWI had 25 teams, including five rookie teams! Five of our veteran teams advanced to state championship tournaments.
Veteran Teams Advance to State!
The Indiana GCNWI team, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Robot, competed in one of the many robotics competitions that took place in November and qualified for the state championship. At state, they were awarded the first-place award for Robot Strategy & Innovation as well as received a trophy for excellence in Robot programming.
Now that the season has ended, our girls are working on their Silver Award and have decided to sponsor a toothbrush drive for less fortunate members of our community. Their experience at the state competition, also led them to create a long-term strategy to pass the team on to younger girls.
The Super Bots competed at the state qualifiers for the fourth year in a row and swept away the competition, earning 212 points on their first table run. They earned the Tournament Champion award and qualified them to also compete at state level in January. They received the award for “Excellence in Robot Design.” These girls were one of the teams invited to tournaments in Turkey and Australia, which is a wonderful recognition!
Team Radioactive is small but mighty! They managed to capture the Championship trophy and advance to the state finals at the Vernon Hills qualifier in December. At the state championship in January, these ladies took home the “Gracious Professionalism” award, which was well deserved.
The Cybourg T.U.R.T.L.E.S. are fascinated by space exploration. Their initiative impressed the judges when they presented a 50+ question personality survey about Mars readiness, and this earned them the Project Award. They also advanced to state, where they made their best table runs of the season.
Rookie Teams Also Earned Recognition
Funding from BNY Mellon helped make it possible to add five new teams to our robotics programs!
Rookie team Holmes Hawks competed at their first qualifier in December. The team worked collaboratively to complete the competition’s course, and while they did not place, it never diminished their enthusiasm. The demonstrated exceptional problem-solving skills, collaborating and hypothesizing on how to run their mission. Their persistence and optimism earned them the “Rookie Award” for the competition, and they are excited to compete again next year. They plan to complete five missions!
Another rookie team, the Slimemaniacs, qualified for state on their first attempt! They also earned the award for Core Values. At the state championship tournament the girls won the “Rookie Award”!
Learn More about Robotics!
Girl Scouts offers programs and badges designed to learn more about robotics! You can attend a Design Your Own Robot Badge workshop to learn about what robots do and how they help people, then design your own!
Get involved in LEGO Robotics
The Girl Scouts GCNWI LEGO program is in partnership with FIRST Robotics. You can be a part of the excitement! Applications open annually in May to participate in the following season.
We are looking for teams of Girl Scouts, who have between 2 – 10 participants, two team leaders, and are willing to dedicate 1 – 2 hours per week on LEGO Robotics from September through December. Girl Scouts participating do not necessarily need to be from the same troop.
As a part of a FIRST LEGO Robotics team within Girl Scouts GCNWI, teams will:
- Design, build, test, and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS ® technology;
- Apply real-world math and science concepts;
- Research challenges facing today’s scientists;
- Learn critical thinking, team-building, and presentation skills;
- Participate in team meetings, tournaments, and celebrations.
Sign-up to be notified with the 2019-2020 applications are open!