Quasics 2656- Girl Scouts Initiative

Hey FIRST Ladies community! My name is Emma, and I am a member of FRC Team 2656, Quasics. Our team is about 50% female and so is our Leadership Team. We are out of Gateway High School in Monroeville, PA. Quasics has been around since the 2008 season, and we currently have one FRC and two FLL teams.

Today I want to talk about our Girl Scouts program. We are program partners with Girl Scouts of Western PA, and we have been able to award 770 STEM badges and counting through this! During the year, we travel to troops near and far to run free workshops. Once a year in December, we run an in-house Badge Bash that brings in girls from several troops. Our kids often lead these events as young as Freshman. This is not only great for the girls, but it is a wonderful leadership opportunity for our students. The parents and troop leaders often compliment our students’ professionalism at these events, and the girls love having kids a bit older than them to look up to, especially our girls. 

So, how do we run these workshops? We write scripts and slideshows for these badges after looking over the requirements. It is super important that the girls meet all of the criteria to earn their badges. Sometimes this means completing handouts to plan out a game, learning about buoyancy by making a paddle boat, or discovering the effects energy has on motion with a balloon car. Whatever the workshop is about, we want to make sure the scouts have fun and learn about STEM. This part is extremely valuable, because this may be the first/last time the girls are introduced to STEM, and we want them to realize that science, technology, engineering, and math may be seemingly boring on their own but can come together into something extraordinary. The Girl Scouts setting is also a perfect place to show them that everyone has a place in STEM.

Finally, how do we know this works? I mean, how can we really measure the impact that this is leaving. Well, I happen to be a former Girl Scout, and this girl’s first meeting with Quasics was in the recreational area of my school.  That’s right, inspired girl to inspiring girls. In all seriousness, Girl Scouts is definitely my favorite kind of outreach, and I’m honored to be a part of these girls’ futures. 

Peace, love, and robots,

FRC Team 2656 Quasics