The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Robo Scouts is a robotics team of 10 girls from 4 different Girl Scout troops whose motto is: "We Run on Girl Power".
Their robot, Eve, is named after Wall's girlfriend from the Disney movie.
The rookie team competed in the Regional FLL competition on December 15 in Davenport, Iowa.
"FIRST" was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.
"FIRST LEGO League" is one of four competitions that "FIRST" has developed for youth. This year's themed challenge is "Senior Solutions."
Teams participate in the challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a playing field (Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Project), all guided by the FLL Core Values.
This robotics team is guided by additional core values: the Girl Scout law.
They pledge to always do their best, respect themselves and others, respect authority, and use resources wisely to make the world a better place.
Two of the team members are local to Henderson County: Kayla Spiker (Oquawka), a 6th grader at West Central Middle School and Sophia Lenzer (Oquawka), a 4th grader at West Central Elementary.
Kayla and Sophia, along with Girl Scout troop leader and FLL coach Janna Carter, have traveled to Galesburg every week (and recently twice a week) to practice with their teammates who all live in Galesburg. It was an exhausting three months, but the rewards are high.
The team has two very ambitious goals after competition.
First, they want to find sponsorship so that the team can be a sustainable part of their community, which would afford other Girl Scouts to benefit from the FLL experience for many years.
They also hope to patent and promote their invention - a lamp switch adapter that helps seniors who have decreased dexterity.
Kayla Spiker (Oquawka), a 6th grader at West Central Middle School and Sophia Lenzer (Oquawka), a 4th grader at West Central Elementary are two of the team members of "FIRST" who along with their coach Janna Carter, want to find sponsorship so that the team can be a sustainable part of their community, which would afford other Girl Scouts to benefit from the same FLL experience they enjoy.