First robotics meeting

Lots of energy! We didn't have our robot or field kit to work with, but I had some videos from my registration packet that I was able to share with them. We talked about the project a little bit, and we talked about the missions a little bit.

Nobel Prize Awarded Women

I'm trying to think of names to suggest to the girls for our robotics team. Most of the robotics teams have rather silly names, I think. Since ours is an all-girl team, and one of the great barriers for girls interested in science, technology, engineering and math is the lack of positive role models, I thought it might be interesting to name our team after a famous female scientist.

The first woman I thought of was Sally Ride. She was in the paper recently when she lost her battle with cancer, but I couldn't think of anything that sounded interesting, and I couldn't think of anyone else, so I decided to look up Nobel Prize winners.

"The Nobel Prize and Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded to women 44 times between 1901 and 2011. Only one woman, Marie Curie, has been honoured twice, with the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This means that 43 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2011." -Nobel Prize.org

I am only interested in the scientists, so I get a list of 15 women:

1. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, 2008, physiology
2. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, 2009, physiology
3. Linda B. Buck, 2004, physiology
4. Gerty Cori, 1947, physiology
5. Marie Curie, 1903, physics, 1911, chemistry
6. Gertrude B. Elion, 1988, physiology
7. Carol W. Greider, 2009, physiology
8. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, 1964, chemistry
9. Irène Joliot-Curie, 1935, chemistry
10. Rita Levi-Montalcini. 1986 physiology
11. Maria Goeppert Mayer, 1963, physics
12. Barbara McClintock, 1983, physiology
13. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, 1995, physiology
14. Rosalyn Yalow, 1977, physiology
15. Ada E. Yonath, 2009, chemistry

Here is a list of synonyms for "builder: architect, artisan, constructor, contractor, craftsperson, erector, fabricator, framer, inventor, maker, manufacturer, mason, originator, producer

Possibilities: Barre's Builders, Blackburn's Builders, Buck's Builders, Cori's Contractors, Curie's Constructors, Elion's Erecto's or Mayer's Makers.

Registration Packet Arrives

Today (09/24/2012) I received in the mail my coaches' Handbook for the 2012 FLL Challenge, a packet of flyers for parents, a DVD guide to the FLL project and a compilation DVD.

• The compilation DVD has a bunch of short videos promoting the different competitions organized by FIRST. One of them features Keanu Reeves and another features Bill Gates. :-)
• The DVD Guide to the FLL Project is a video created by an FLL team explaining the project and giving helpful tips to competing teams.
• The Coaches' Handbook is a hundred pages long. I think I will read it a little at a time. :-)

Robotics training workshop

I just got back from an all-day training workshop in Salem. We covered a lot of topics. My head is reeling, but the most fun was building a robot and programing it. We built the robot from instructions, so that was pretty easy, and we wrote our first program from instructions, too, but by the end we wrote a program of our own. That was fun. My team's robot didn't actually complete its mission, but we had a lot of fun anyway.

I can't wait to get started. My robot kit isn't here yet, but we are already two weeks into the season, so I've decided to hold our first meeting next week anyway. If the robot isn't here by then, we can get started on the project.

I hope I can help the girls have a positive experience. There were moments today, when I was so frustrated, I just didn't want to do it anymore, but those moments passed, and I got excited about the next challenge.

Building the practice table

The instructions for the practice table are very simple. The materials list:

• One (1) sheet of plywood 4 feet x 8 feet x 1/2 inch
• Six (6) boards 2 inches x 4 inches x 8 feet. Actually, the instructions called for 2x3s, but it was written give or takes 1/2 inch. I happen to know that 2x4 is only 3 1/2 inches wide, so I thought that is what they meant, but they felt the need to be more explicit as they are engineers, and their audience is international. I since learned that no, they really would prefer you to buy 3 inch boards if you can find them. I wish I had tried. My table wouldn't be so heavy.
• black paint
• wood screws
• saw horses

I already have a pair of saw horses and several boxes of wood screws left over from past projects. The table went together without much trouble. My challenge was that I wanted to store it out of the way between meetings, so that my husband could still park his truck in the garage. I came up with a system of pulleys which seem to be working, but it took a little trial and error.

My first configuration did not work.

Too heavy.

My second configuration did not work.

The table did not lift straight up.

The troop chose a crest

The troop finally chose their crest last night. Previously they had attempted to choose a crest at spring camp, but the conversation became contentious. In retrospect it may have seemed to have a lot to do with the fact that they had not slept well for two nights in a row, but two camps formed. A few girls REALLy wanted the unicorn (beauty) and a few girls REALLY wanted the honeybee (hard work).

Wisely, our troop leader decided to table the discussion for awhile. Tonight she presented them will a list of attributes that each crest stands for, and they debated that instead. It came down to two camps again, though. A few girls voted for friendship (lei) and a few girls voted for strength (crane). Since there were only five girls at the meeting, there wasn't a tie, so the winner was: friendship (the lei).

I think this is the perfect crest for our troop. Without our friends: what's the point. It was my daughter Samantha that campaigned the hardest for strength, and I can understand why. She takes a lot of pride in her personal strength, but I think the lei better represents the troop. :)

Robotics links and references

Here is a list of useful facts and links related to the robotics team. I am creating this page as a reference for myself, my team and the Internet community. Please let me know if you find anything useful.

• Core Values: The FLL Core Values are among the elements that distinguish FLL from other programs of its kind. By embracing the Core Values, participants learn that friendly competition and mutual gain are not separate goals, and that helping one another is the foundation of teamwork.
  1. We are a team.
  2. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
  3. We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
  4. We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
  5. What we discover is more important than what we win.
  6. We share our experiences with others.
  7. We display gracious professionalism and cooperation in everything we do.
  8. We have FUN!
• FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology is an is an organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen in New Hampshire to develop ways to inspire students in engineering and technology fields. The organization is the foundation for the FIRST LEGO League and other competitions. Click here to read the Wikipedia article.
• FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students. Click here to read the Wikipedia article.
  
• The NXT Step: Lego Mindstorms NXT Blog.
• NXT Multi-Bot: I found this link on another blog, and the girls might find it useful in designing their robot, so I'm copying it here, so I don't loose track of it.
• ORTOP: Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program is the organization responsible for organizing our local tournaments and training our local coaches.
  
• Senior Solutions (2012): this year's challenge is themed to finding solutions for seniors who have limited mobility or other issues. Click here to see a video of Scott Evans, robot game designer and engineer, describing the missions in the robot game.
  

What are your favorite robotics links and reference pages?

We got our team number

I received an email today with our team number. We have been registered as

Team 14579 : Scappoose Girl Scouts

The start of the robotics team

A few weeks ago I realized that my daughter was about to turn 10 which meant that it was time to buy her a Lego Mindstorms NXT set. I've been eyeing these sets in the Lego store for years, waiting for my daughter to turn ten so that I could buy it for her. These sets retail for about $250. It's easily the most expensive box in the store. They look to me like great fun, and I hoped that it would inspire her to pursue a career in engineering.

Then all at once, I sort of had a brain storm. I knew about First Lego League, and I sort of knew that there was a team nearby. I decided to look into getting her on a team because at this age everything is more fun with friends than it is with you mom. I couldn't find a team for her, but I did find that the Girl Scouts were promoting the idea of starting teams in troops.

I love the girls in my daughter's troop, so I started looking into the possibility of starting our own team in our own troop. Then I realized how expensive it would be. It costs a lot more to start a team than it does to buy a robot at the Lego store. The Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit at the Lego store now retails for $280, but the robot kit required for a FIRST Lego League team costs $420. Then its another $225 to register the team nationally, $74 for local registration, $75 for a field kit, about ~$50 shipping and handling and finally another ~$75 for the lumber to build a competition table. All together it costs about ~$900 to start a team.

That was well beyond my abilities, so I started looking into ways of raising the funds through participation fees, fundraiser or corporate sponsors. I spoke with my daughters troop leader, and we decided that we just didn't have time. We would have to put this on the calendar for next year. :(

Then, out of the blue, my daughter's troop leader received an email from the Callie Vandewiele, Program Specialist, Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington about some grant money that hey had to start a team, and they just needed a coach! Well, I jumped right on that and we got all signed up with Cathy Swider, Project Administrator, Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program. I am going for my all-day training on 09/22/2012.

I'm very excited and I decided to start this blog to chronicle our adventures.

How did your team get started?

Samantha's fifth year of Girl Scouting

As Samantha enters the fourth grade, she begins her fifth year of Girl Scouting. She is a junior this year. They wear green vests. She got all her books last spring, and I have been home with her all summer, so I helped her earn her first journey and three badges (geocaching, independence and jeweler).

The journey that we worked on was all about energy conservation. We made recycled paper. We did an energy audit of our home, and we organized a bicycle train to school with the girls in our neighborhood. Journey's are hard, but they are worth the effort. They are fun, mostly. My only real complaint about them is that they include too much book work. Scouting is learning by doing. The girls get enough book work in school.

My goal this year is to help Samantha earn all three journeys and all the badges. There are 26 regular badges. There are six council badges: (1) forestry fun, (2) Indians of Western Oregon, (2) Lewis and Clark, (3) Mt. Saint Helens, (4) Oceanography, (5) Oregon Trail and (6) Rose Festival. There is also a make-your-own badge that she can do once each year. We are having trouble deciding what to do for that.

I volunteered to serve on the troop committee this year. I will be the camping coordinator. I need to go get some training and then plan some campouts.

I also received a grant to coach a robotics team. The grant comes from the Girl Scouts, so I hope all the girls in our troop will want to be on the team.

What are you looking forward to doing with your fourth-grader in Girl Scouts?