Robotics Club
Sponsored by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore

Club Mission:
To provide an informal educational setting where all girls interested have an opportunity to explore the world of robotics.

Club Objectives:
To explore how robotics work, how robotics are used in our everyday lives, the science of how things work, what the future designed by you holds for all of us.

Club Essentials:
Each club chooses a location that best suits its members.

Each club will incorporate the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) and periodically evaluate their club activities based on the outcomes: Discover, Connect & Take Action.

Each club is girl led: Decisions for the club are determined by the girls with their adult coach/facilitator’s advice and guidance.

Each club will have all its members, both adult and girls, registered as part of the Girl Scout Movement, $12.

Dues have been set at $8 per month and each club can determine what product sales programs and money raising activities they need to do to meet/achieve their goals (regional and council guidelines for money earning activities must be followed).

 Why should girls be involved in robotics?

The answer is in the program design that integrates science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts of:

• Problem solving
• Engineering
• Creativity
• Science principles
• Thinking skills
• Logic

The positive values and behaviors that are expected from each club member:

•      Cooperation
•      Gracious professional – treating one another with respect and kindness in the process of discovery

The Lego Educational System that we have chosen to use supports the concepts of “leadership through innovation.” The robotics club provides the opportunity to work with proven hands-on experiences that lead to positive solutions for each participant.  We are serious in our attempts to have more girls be successful in science, technology, engineering and math.

Our clubs will focus on the Lego Education WeDo™ Robotics Set with Activity Pack.

LEGO Education WeDo provides a hands-on learning experience that actively engages children’s creative thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills. The WeDo environment is programmed with simple, drag-and-drop software .

We also have some supplemental interactive kits where girls work with basic simple machines, such as gears, to build and program simple models. In doing so, they understand the basics of moving a motor in one direction or the other, or how to gear up or down.

The Red Bank Robotics Club constructed and programmed a drumming monkey that changed its rhythm and sounds. The girls worked together using the WeDo materials and components to investigate the complex actions of cams and gears. 

In a December 2006 interview in Scientific American Magazine, Bill Gates said “…the robotics industry is developing in much the same way that the computer business did 30 years ago. As I look at the trends that are now starting to converge, I can envision a future in which robotic devices will become a nearly ubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives.”

Red Cedar Robotics Clubs mentoring the new clubs. 

As we move forward, we will be setting up workshops where the Red Cedar Robotics Clubs show new clubs surprising innovations!

Current Club Locations Dates/Times:

Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore Robotics Club
Location:    Hazlet — Cullen Center — first Saturday of the month
*  February 12
*  March 12
*  April 9
*  May 14
*  June 11

*  July 9
*  September 10
*  October 15
*  November 12
*  December 10
Time:  10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Location:    Farmingdale — Program Activity Center — First Saturday of the Month uless noted below **
*  January 21**

 February 18th **

  March 17**

*  April 14

*  May 12

*  NO MEETING IN JUNE

*  NO MEETING IN JULY

*  NO MEETING IN AUGUST

*  September 8

*  October 13

*  November 10

*  December 8

Time: 10:00 am to 12 noon

Location:    Toms River — Ocean Service Center — Third Saturday of the Month
*  February 19
*  March 19
*  April 16
*  May 21
*  NO MEETINGS IN JUNE, JULY OR AUGUST

*  September 17
*  October 15
*  November 19
*  December 17
Time:  10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Location:    Red Bank — Red Bank Library (West Front Street)
*  March 5
*  April 2
*  May 7
*  June 4
*  July 9
*  August 6
*  September 10
*  October 1
*  November 5
*  December 3

We are looking for adult coaches/facilitators for each of the clubs. If you or anyone you know is interested, please ask them to contact Pat Kurz (732) 938-5454, ext. 125.

Please make your initial contact through the information request form.

Our Meetings

At our first meeting in Farmingdale, we opened with a get to know you activity, introducing ourselves and remembering each other’s names. We divided into two groups based on age and proceeded to make dancing birds move and sing.  The girls built the moving robotic and programmed it to sing a variety of interesting sounds, as well as move at different speeds.  After the initial success, girls were given a few challenges with moving the belts around gears to see how they could move their birds at different speeds.