Carol Stream Girl Scouts compete in robotics challenge
Michelle Macrito’s robot may not sing and dance on a yellow brick road, but she doesn’t have to wonder what might be possible if it only had a brain.
The hub of the robot, or “brain” as Macrito, 13, likes to call it, holds 2 gigabytes of data, the result of months of programming computer software.
Cable plugs shoot out of the brain and translate information to two motors near wheels. And that’s how Macrito tells her robot — constructed of Legos — how to move.
Hundreds of those little plastic bricks litter her bedroom floor in Carol Stream.
“Legos seem to be growing out of the carpeting,” her mom, Beverly, said.
Macrito and three other Girl Scouts from Carol Stream competed last month in a competition organized by the FIRST Lego League, and international robotics program for boys and girls ages 9 to 16.
The FIRST Lego League competition challenges participants in two of Macrito’s passions: Legos and robotics. Teams are challenged to build a robot using a specific Lego kit, then program the robot to complete tasks on a course.
The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana not only co-sponsored the competition, but also sponsored seven teams in regional tournaments, including Macrito’s Funky S’mores team, a tribute to their love of the gooey confection during camping trips. Macrito’s mom coaches the team.
While the girls spent about four hours snapping together and layering the Legos for the robot’s body, they spent about four months programming the software for the robot’s brain.
“We wanted to make it as perfect as possible,” Macrito said of their robot, Smello.
Besides building a robot, the contest required the team to design a research project about the safety of food supplies. They explored testing for food contamination after the deadly listeria outbreak in cantaloupes and presented their findings to two classes at Jay Stream Middle School — despite some jeers from the school’s all-male robotics team.
“You have to have confidence to move forward with it,” she said.
The competition marked Macrito’s third FIRST Lego League contest. Although the team did not advance to the state competition Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20 and 21, Macrito credits her experience for helping her to concentrate in math classes at Jay Stream, where she is an honor roll student.
Partnering with the FIRST Lego League and sponsoring teams are part of a Girl Scouts initiative designed to spur girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math through real-world problems and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM fields.
“It’s highly exciting and very stimulating,” said Vicki King, director of new business ventures and alliances at Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Plus, girls develop the confidence in leadership roles that Macrito and her teammates displayed while presenting their research to classmates, she said.
“They’re gaining the ultimate experience of teamwork and social enterprise,” King said.
Sponsoring each team costs about $1,000, including fees for the Lego robotics kit, registering with the league and other costs. King hopes the council can sponsor 14 teams next year. Donations can be made at girlscoutsgcnwi.org.