Wauwatosa Girl Scouts win award in state robotics competition

Six girl members of Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast, all students at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, placed second in the Gracious Professionalism category at the December 8 FIRST ® LEGO® League “Senior Solutions™” Challenge State Competition held at Mukwonago High School. The team also received an award for Robot Design at a recent regional competition.

Applying research and robotics to explore improving quality of life for seniors, Jessica Gatewood, Rebecca Gatewood, Aleksey Hicks, Janelle Johnson, Natalie Wessel and Hannah Willer, also known as the LOL Team, were among the twenty-six girl members of Girl Scouts Wisconsin Southeast that competed on four separate teams incorporating creativity and science to help seniors stay independent, engaged and connected.

The Girl Scouts, with support from coaches Brent Gatewood, Eric Johnson, Julie Wessel and Mark Willer , researched one of today’s most relevant topics: aging, and how to counter the effects of aging while maintaining a good quality of life. With missions including mobility, flexibility, balance, and memory, the teams programmed their LEGO MINDSTORMS® robots to further explore these issues, creating the ”Lift Our Load Laundry Rail Rider” to facilitate the sometimes daunting task of carrying laundry.

Sponsored by Time Warner Cable Wisconsin, the LOL Team was among the 230 teams in the state of Wisconsin that competed in one of eight regional tournaments and the 59 teams that earned the right to advance to the State Tournament this year.

Participation in the FLL is just one of many ways Girl Scouts introduces girls of every age to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities that are relevant to everyday life. Whether they're discovering how a car's engine runs, becoming math whizzes, or learning about careers in STEM fields, girls are moving forward into the future. They can design Web sites, plan for space exploration, visit geological sites and more.