On March 19 the Space Cookies, an all girls FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition team—whose members include GMS Alums Elizabeth Berry (’07), Callie Jerman (’07), and Emily Kellison-Linn (’08)—was part of the three team alliance that won the Sacramento Regional Competition. Winning the regional competition gives them a berth at the International Championships in St. Louis at the end of April.

Each year the FIRST competition requires teams to build in six weeks a full size robot that is designed to play a special robot “game.” The 2011 game is called “Logomotion,” and requires the robot to pick up and hang inflated plastic shapes on a multiple level rack, and deploy a “minibot “to race up a pole in the last thirty seconds of the game to earn bonus points.

In addition to winning the regional competition, the Space Cookies were awarded the “Engineering Inspiration” award for outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers in their community. Activities that earned them the award include mentorship of a FIRST Lego League team at the East Palo Alto Charter School and exhibiting their robot at events like the Maker Faire and the Great America Physics Day.

Sponsored through collaboration between the NASA Ames Research Center and the Girl Scouts of Northern California, girls from any Bay Area high school can join the Space Cookies. The team meets and works in a lab at NASA-Ames. Members participate in hands-on engineering, mechanical design, fabrication, electronics, and programming.

No prior experience is necessary, although GMS grads join the team with a great skill set. The curriculum and educational methodology at GMS provide grads with experiences that prepare them well for the FIRST Robotics challenge:
Computer science courses introduce them to robotics, webpage development, and programming.
Entrepreneurial Studies prepares them to write a team business and marketing plan.
Study of engineering and forces in science is the basis for understanding robot design.
Group projects and cooperative learning skills are essential for achieving real world results, i.e a robot that performs well.
Skill at problem solving enables girls to face unexpected challenges with confidence.
The all girls environment, both at The Girls’ Middle School and on the Space Cookies robotics team, allows girls to lead, learn, and work in their own style.

The Space Cookies’ motto, “Girls Engineering Tomorrow,” also speaks to much of what The Girls’ Middle School is about as well. For more information about the Space Cookies and FIRST Robotics, visit their websites:
Space Cookies: www.spacecookies.org
FIRST: www.usfirst.org