Welcome to the RoboScout Squad Website!

Posted on May 2, 2020 by

Leave a Comment

We are so happy you are here to learn about RoboScout Squad and FIRST robotics programs.

<post pinned to top>

We are RoboScout Squad, an all Girl Scout FIRST Tech Challenge and LEGO robotics team in Kalispell, Montana. Our team is made up of girls in grades 9-12. We’ve been a team for 5 years and we will start our 3rd FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Season in September. In the past, we have also participated in the NASA NWESSP LEGO robotics challenges. In our first three seasons, we competed in FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and we are the 2020 FLL Montana State Champions. In 2021 we were the second-ranked FTC team in Montana. This year we are both the Inspire Award winners and Winning Alliance Captain and we attended the World Championship in Houston, TX. We don’t just compete, we share our tech with younger Girl Scouts and our community with a goal of increasing enthusiasm for STEM in girls. Scroll through our blog posts and visit our “About Us“, “FTC” and “FLL” pages to learn more.

This website has a host of information for kids, parents, new teams, coaches, volunteers, and sponsors. Our blog page also contains local news stories about the team.

The FLL/FTC resources contained on this page are mostly from FIRST directly. Supplemental info is based on our experience as a new team and is geared toward new teams and coaches. We want to help you get started and grow. We would love more teams to start-up in the Flathead.

If you’d like to support our team and encourage STEM education for girls in the Flathead Valley, let us know by visiting our “Our Sponsors” page or emailing us at: info@roboscoutsquad.com

Thank you for being here with us. We appreciate your support!

RoboScout Squad Found a New Home

Posted on May 31, 2022 by

Leave a Comment

5/31/2022

RoboScout Squad is thrilled to announce that our quest to find a new location has been successful.  Team Sponsor Logan Health has generously offered space for us to set up our robotics lab.  We are so overwhelmed with gratitude.  Please join us in saying thank you, Logan Health, for being a champion for us, giving us a space that will allow us to grow, and supporting girls in STEM.

For the last 5 years, the Kalispell Girl Scout office has hosted our all Girl Scout robotics team.  With local Girl Scout staff now able to work from home, the office is closing when the lease is up at the end of May.  This sent the team on a search for a new home.

“Our youth is our future,” says Logan Health President & CEO Craig Lambrecht, MD. “When we heard about this need, we were happy to provide a space to nurture the collective talents of this team.”

We are excited about the new space because it has enough room for a full competition field.  We’ll be able to set up stations dedicated to specific tasks like building, programming, 3D printing, and a workbench for cutting and drilling custom parts.  The room already has a full pegboard wall which will come in handy for organization and parts visibility. A little extra room also gives us an opportunity to reach more girls, invite groups of visitors to come and see what we do, and maybe even host a scrimmage.

RoboScout Squad won the 2022 Montana FIRST Tech Challenge Championship and attended the 2022 World Championship in Houston, TX in April.  The next FIRST Tech Challenge season starts in mid-September when teams around the world receive the parameters of a brand-new robot game.  Teams then begin building and programming robots to tackle the new challenge.

RoboScout Squad is currently recruiting new members for the 2022-2023 “PowerPlay” Season.  Current 8th-11th grade girls that are interested can reach out to the team at info@roboscoutsquad.com.  Team roles include engineering/build, CAD design, programming, documentation, website maintenance, social media, rules and safety, presentation/speech writing, 3D printing, outreach, and more.  No experience is needed.  You just need a desire to learn, the ability to work well in a close team environment, and the time to commit to the team.  If you have a group of kids interested in starting a new FIRST Tech Challenge or FIRST LEGO League team, we’d be happy to share knowledge and help you get started.

Thank you to everyone in the community that kept their eyes open for a new space, made calls on our behalf, or passed along leads.  We are thankful for your support and encouragement.  Again, thank you, Logan Health, for coming to our rescue with a perfect solution. We’ll post again when we get the new robotics lab finished and named.

Wish List of Items for New Space:

  • Horizontal band saw (smaller, with stand) – like this one from Amazon or similar – $243
  • Heat Gun with deflectors – $74
  • Soldering Iron Kit – $141
  • 19-24″ HDMI 1080p monitor — Thank you RadioActive for your donation!
  • Folding chairs (8) — Thank you J2 Business Products for your donation!
  • Drill press and vice — Thank you Harbor Freight for your donation!
  • Bench grinder — Thank you Harbor Freight Store Manager Archie!
  • Paint and Painting Supplies — Thank you Lowe’s for your donation!
  • FLL Banner — Thank you SignsNow for your creative work and donation!

RoboScout Squad Seeks New Meeting Location

Posted on May 3, 2022 by

Leave a Comment

We have a new challenge and need your assistance. First off, thank you to our friends, family, sponsors, supporters, and the community for helping us get to the World Championship in Houston. It was an amazing, fun, and educational experience. We will get our FTC Freight Frenzy season blog updated with all kinds of World Championship news soon.

RoboScout Squad is an all-girls robotics team in Kalispell that has been participating in FIRST robotics competitions since 2017. These innovative girls are in need of a new meeting space. They have worked hard over the last 5 years and moved up from small FIRST LEGO League robots to FIRST Tech Challenge’s larger aluminum robots. RoboScout Squad is the only FTC team in Flathead County. They have accomplished amazing things:

  • 2022 MT FTC Champions:
    • Inspire Award Winner
    • Winning Alliance Captain in the robot game
  • 2021 MT FTC Inspire Award Finalist
    • Top Ranked Robot – 2nd Place
    • Motivate Award Winner
    • Promote Award Winner
  • 2020 NASA ROADs on Mars awards for Documentation and Team Spirit
  • 2020 MT FLL Champion’s Award
  • 2019 MT NASA ANGLeS Challenge Champions

What they do is more than robots. Beyond the obvious STEM skills, they are learning critical thinking, resilience, project management, public speaking, advocacy, the value of cooperation for mutual gain, and much more. They also share what they learn and mentor younger kids.

“We’re not using kids to build robots, we’re using robots to build kids.”

Dean Kamen, Inventor, and Founder of FIRST.

RoboScout Squad’s members are honor roll students, dedicated Girl Scouts, musicians, athletes, and more. Their mission is to encourage children, especially young women, to pursue STEM activities.

We are looking to continue our work but need meeting space donated. Our current space is no longer available as of 5/31/22. If you have a location or know someone with 400-800 sq ft of heated space (safe, secure, electrical outlets, bathroom) in the Kalispell area, please let us know. An oversized 2-3 car garage/shop space, RV garage bay, corner of a warehouse, office space, or Quonset hut, are all great options and we are open to other creative ideas. We don’t mind concrete floors. We have 4 industrial shelves for equipment, 3 work tables with chairs, and a 12′ x 12′ robot game field, for which we need walking space on 3 sides. Coming off our recent success, the team is growing and adding new members. We would need to be able to have equipment out full time from late September-March. Tables/chairs/field can be folded/packed and leaned against the wall in the off-season. We usually meet twice weekly, less often in the off-season.

In-kind donations of space, or ongoing donations to cover rent in a new space, are tax-deductible. It would be ideal to have at least a one-year commitment of space, so we aren’t having to move mid-season. All donors receive recognition on our website and social media accounts. Logos can be placed on our team shirts and signs at competitions. Help us grow the leaders of tomorrow.

Thank you for supporting girls in STEM. Please spread the word and help us find a new “home”.

For more information, please email us at info@roboscoutsquad.com.

In the News: Daily Inter Lake and NBC Montana

Posted on March 13, 2022 by

Leave a Comment

We’ve had a couple mentions in the news in the past 3 days about the team, their success, and their fundraising efforts for the FIRST Championship. On March 5th, 2022, we received the Inspire Award and Winning Alliance Captain at the Montana State FTC Championship.

Saturday 3/12 – NBC Montana: https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/kalispell-robotics-team-brings-home-another-state-title (click the link to watch the video)

Kalispell robotics team brings home another state title

by Dominic Vitiello Saturday, March 12th 2022

KALISPELL, MONT. — Kalispell’s Girl Scouts robotics team, Roboscout Squad, won the 2022 Montana FIRST Tech Challenge Championship.

The RoboScout Squad is one of the few all-girls teams in the robotics scene.

The tournament was a multipart competition that included robotics, programming, problem-solving, teamwork and public speaking.

“There are no words to say how great this has been. It’s just awesome,” said Lexi Nunnally, Roboscout Squad chief engineer.

The team designed, built and programmed their robot, which they named Grover.

The team hopes to put Montana robotics on the map and encourage girls to pursue STEM activities.

“Definitely want to encourage more young girls especially to pursue STEM activities to prove that it’s not just for men,” said Roboscouts primary driver Kennedy Dortch.

After securing first place in the state championship, the team now faces their next hurdle.

In a race against the clock, the team has around six weeks to come up with $25,000 needed to make it to the world championships in Houston, Texas, where they will compete against hundreds of teams from around the globe.

“Our community is incredibly supportive. They’re very supportive of girls in technology, and they’re very supportive of things that put Montana on the map. We will make it there one way or another,” said team co-coach Krista Nunnally.

The Roboscout Squad is selling Girl Scout cookies, looking for community sponsorships and even started a GoFundMe to raise the funds needed.

The teammates say they’re not taking no for an answer and will make it to Houston after COVID-19 canceled their last world competition.

Friday 3/11 – Daily Inter Lake: https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2022/mar/11/roboscout-squad-wins-state-robotics-tournament/

RoboScout Squad wins state robotics tournament

By HILARY MATHESON
Daily Inter Lake | March 11, 2022 12:00 AM

Command position — first place at the Montana FIRST Tech Challenge robotics tournament. Endpoint position achieved.

The Kalispell RoboScout Squad brought home the state championship trophy and Inspire Award after competing March 5 in Belgrade. The Inspire Award goes to a team with all-around top performances in different areas. Placing second was a Eureka team from Lincoln County High School.

During the competition, the RoboScout Squad, made up of Girl Scouts from troop 3709, built and coded robots to complete missions and objectives centered around a shipping and logistics theme. The team also did a presentation before judges to explain their design process and submitted an engineering portfolio describing the work they did throughout the season.

Now, the RoboScout Squad is hoping to roll toward another win when they compete at their first FIRST Tech Challenge World Championships in Houston April 20-23.

RoboScout coach Krista Nunally said the Montana team will compete against 159 US and international teams.

The team is seeking sponsorships and is looking to raise $25,000 to cover travel, lodging, food, tournament registration and shipping expenses to mail equipment to and from Texas. That amount also includes other expenses such as purchasing uniforms and banners for the team’s booth display during the tournament convention, among others needs.

People may donate online at gofundme.com. People wishing to donate more than $249 and receive a tax-deductible receipt, or wanting to mail a check should contact Krista Nunnally by email at info@roboscoutsquad.com.

For more information visit roboscoutsquad.com or call 406-270-3489.

The FIRST Tech Challenge is geared to seventh- through 12th-graders.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 406-758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.

Montana FTC Championship Results

Posted on March 8, 2022 by

Leave a Comment

It was such a big day for everyone! We are humbled and excited to announce that we were awarded the Montana FTC Inspire Award, and we were the Winning Alliance Captain in the robot game. With this comes a bid to the World Championship in Houston, TX April 19-23. We are thrilled about the upcoming experience but a bit shook by the amount of fundraising needed in less than 6 weeks. We estimate this trip will cost between $22,000-$25,000. Please check out our World Championship page, our GoFundMe, and our #FreightFrenzy season blog for more info.

Follow us on Twitter
FIRST TECH CHALLENGE
Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming
Montana State University: FIRST
Montana Learning Center
%d bloggers like this: