ROBO-SCOUTS

MAT-SU — From petroleum exploration to communications to robotics, there’s more to modern Girl Scouts than keeping communities supplied with Thin Mints.

Today’s Girl Scouts can be tomorrow’s influential women in many fields, even those traditionally dominated by men. That’s why Saturday’s 10th annual Women of Science and Technology Day at Mat-Su College drew about 300 area Girls Scouts. The day-long event featured numerous workshops designed to spark interest and expand imaginations.

In Lego Robotics, a baker’s dozen Scouts spent part of the afternoon playing with robotic Lego devices. Called Lego Mindstorms robots, the kits combine traditional Lego building blocks with advanced technology like sensors, a motor and a sophisticated computer “brain” that needs programming.

These aren’t the same Legos the Scouts’ parents grew up with.

“These are totally different, and totally cool,” said Jeanne Dirks, an engineer for the state of Alaska and leader of a team of Valley Girls Scouts who compete in robotics competitions.

In fact, the competitions can become so intense they have their own organization, the First Lego League (FLL). Dirks’ daughter Kelly, 13, is on the local team. Although getting robots to do just what she wants them to do can be frustrating, she’s hooked.

“I’ve been playing with Legos probably since I was about 8,” she said. “I like that you can build different things and they’ll stay without breaking — usually.”

She enjoys making robots complete “missions,” which are assigned tasks they must carry out without any physical help. There is no remote control, so programming the robots is key, Kelly Dirks said.

“Today, we’re going to try to complete a few missions, get the hoops and stuff without dropping them,” she said, adding that at home, she programs her Lego robot with a different mission. “We usually have it chase the dog a few times. He tries to attack it. He doesn’t like it.”

Along with being fun, Lego Mindstorms robots also help develop problem-solving skills and open youth up to other fields of technology, said Tammy Hanley, one of the adult instructors for Saturday’s workshop.

“It’s not remote control, you program it,” she said, which means the robot won’t do anything it’s not told to. “In real life, robotics are used in many fields. Robots are used in transportation, the medical field, space, the ocean and you can go on and on.”

Hamming it up

While the Lego Robotics class was ramping up inside Mat-Su College, another group of girls was outside learning about communication alternatives that, while not new, were unfamiliar to many. In the information age where most teens have cell phones and are Internet savvy, learning about ham radio was an eye-opener for some.

Ray Hollenbeck of the Matanuska Amateur Radio Association set up a large transmission tower and shared the organization’s trailer full of technology.

“I have a computer tied into my HF rig, and I talk to people in Shanghai and the Ukraine,” he said. “We talk back and forth.”

Sending text messages over cell phones is a popular way to communicate, and the Girl Scouts said they were surprised to learn they can also send similar messages with radio waves.

“I learned that you can IM people on the radio,” said 12-year-old Mikayla Evans. “I never thought there would be stuff you could do like that.”

Lydia Phillips, 12, talked to someone named Tim. She didn’t know where in the world Tim was, but “I asked him if he played any sports,” she said. “He does baseball and dog mushing.”

While interesting to most, not all the girls were impressed enough to abandon their familiar technology. Erika Aki, 12, said she likes using her cell phone and computer “for texting and going on the Internet.”

She had heard about ham radio before, but didn’t know what it was. She thought then “it was really weird.”

After learning about another form of communication, what does she now think of ham radio?

“It’s still weird.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.