Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana Michiana hosts Rockin’ Robots program to empower girls in STEM fields through hands-on learning.

Syracuse: The Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana Michiana are proving that girls can do anything. They recently held a fun event called Rockin’ Robots at Camp Logan. Daisies, Brownies, and Junior Girl Scouts from 22 counties came together for a LEGO-based robotics program.
Claire Forrest, the chief marketing officer, shared that many girls start thinking science and math are for boys by second or third grade. But this program shows them that coding and robotics are totally for them. Even first graders are getting in on the action!
The program focuses on four main areas: outdoors, entrepreneurship, STEM, and life skills. Candice Studebaker, the senior STEM coordinator, led the activities using a lesson plan from LEGO Education.
On Saturday, the girls learned to use a Python-like system with the LEGO Education SPIKE App. They started with the basics, like identifying and building robots, and then moved on to coding them.
Forrest mentioned that while we often think of robots like Wall-E, there are so many other types. The girls explored why robots are important and how they can be used in everyday life.
One fun activity involved a scenario where a character named Daniel had too much stuff in his locker. The girls had to program a robot to follow him home with all his belongings using a grid. After that, they got creative, designing their own robots and using craft materials to build them.
Forrest highlighted that the Girl Scout program is very girl-led, with over 200 badges for them to explore. It’s all about empowering girls to take charge and discover their potential!
Dani Messick, an education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News, is available for contact at dani.messick@goshennews.com or 574-538-2065.