Girl Scouts + LEGOs = Robot Superstars

By Morgan, 12

What do you get when seven Girl Scouts play with LEGOs? Chaos! Or Chaotic Robotics to be precise. Chaotic Robotics is the name of my FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics team.

How It All Began

We started building robots at a one-day workshop through Girl Scouts. The robots were built using LEGOs and programmed using software. It was a lot of hard work, and we got tired and frustrated sometimes, but it was FUN. The judges were impressed with the way we worked as a team and our positive attitude, so we actually got money to keep working together and compete in FIRST LEGO League Tournaments.

What We Had to Do

We had six weeks to complete our project. We would be judged on:

• Technical—design, building and programming of our robot.
• Robot Challenge—how well the robot performs a series of nine tasks in two-and-a-half minutes.
• Presentation—research a problem and do a presentation about it. We chose ocean pollution.
• Team Spirit—teamwork and spirit.

How We Did

We went to two tournaments. At our Regional tournament we won the Third Place Award in the technical category for our robot. This earned us an invitation to the state finals. There we won the Rookie Inspiration Award for being the best all round rookie (first year) team in the state! These awards mean a lot to Hannah, Alyssa, Marissa, Ashley, Erica, Meagan and I, because it shows that hard work really paid off for our all-girl rookie team.

What We Got Out of It

What's great about the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is that you take things you learn about math and science and use them to make a real hands-on robotics project. And I got to do it with my friends! Being a part of the FLL has helped me gain self-esteem, confidence and teamwork skills that will last a lifetime.