“This is a remarkable achievement and an example of that special Girl Scout perseverance, hard work and team spirit,” said Brenda Berg, CEO of Girl Scouts – Mt. Wilson Vista Council. “Congratulations to these dedicated young women who are not only pioneers in the fields of science and technology, but have demonstrated the courage, confidence and character that is at the core of Girl Scouting.”

Last fall, the Rock n’ Roll Robots finished 45th out of 45 in a local FIRST Tech Challenge competition. Within two weeks, they completely rebuilt their robot, developed a new strategy for competing, and finished in 4th place in the Los Angeles area FTC Championship.

Inspired to continue, the team worked diligently and took 2nd place in the regional FTC Championship in San Diego. Still reaching for the stars and a trip to the FIRST World Festival in Atlanta, the Rock n’ Roll Robots headed to Las Vegas in February where they competed and won the Inspire Award, garnering them the coveted ticket to Atlanta. And the rest is robotics history! 

In its first year, Mt. Wilson Vista Council fielded 11 robotics teams as part of its new Robots! Robots! Robots! Program. The unique program is part of the council’s STEM programming initiatives, which encourage girls to explore their interest and potential in STEM-related fields.

Among the many exciting components of this new program, the girls work together to build a robot, program it to complete tasks, research a science-related topic and present before a professional panel, and compete in competitions with other youth. Through the program, girls develop leadership, gain an understanding of teamwork, learn how to set and achieve goals, take on new and challenging tasks, demonstrate the importance of character and conduct, and develop friendships.

The program was generously funded by Lockheed Martin through its STEM Career Exploration Grant, with support of Girl Scouts of the USA, and the Motorola Foundation.

Girl Scouts of the USA has a 95-year tradition of encouraging girls to explore and enjoy science, technology, engineering and math (the STEM fields), areas that girls tend to steer away from due to academic stereotypes and social environments.  Today, Girl Scouts offers 75 badges in the STEM subjects and locally Mt. Wilson Vista Council partners with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA and the Night Sky Network of Astronomers, among others, on a variety of programs.

The participating Girl Scout councils are especially grateful to the support of the team mentors and program partners from Caltech, JPL and the Society of Women Engineers, among others.