Local Girl Scouts earn VIP treatment at Space Center
Kalispell Girl Scouts, clockwise from bottom left, Lexi Nunnally, Jessie Chadwick and Katie Eberhardy huddle for a photo in the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center, one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. The ceiling above them is 525 feet high. (Photos courtesy of Krista Nunnally)
From left, Troop 3709 Girl Scouts Katie Eberhardy, Lexi Nunnally wear their Scout vests as they pose for a photo at the Kennedy Space Center.
Three Girl Scouts from Kalispell recently were able to see firsthand how far STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — can take them in the future. And it’s farther than they ever imagined.
Jessie Chadwick, 14, and Katie Eberhardy, 14, both freshmen at Flathead High School, and Lexi Nunnally, 15, a sophomore at Glacier High School, returned from a trip to Florida last month where they received a personal and up-close experience at the Kennedy Space Center and NASA facilities. The girls, members of Girl Scout Troop 3709, earned the trip in July when they participated in—and won—the Middle School Division of the Apollo Next Giant Leap Student (ANGLeS) Challenge, a national challenge celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. The ANGLeS Challenge regional competition was hosted by the Montana Learning Center in Helena.
The girls, whose team name was the Lunar Loonies, are part of a larger all-girl Robotics team named RoboScout Squad. They took on the summer challenge to build a replica of the lunar module and use a remote-controlled drone to land it on an 8-by-10-foot map of the moon’s surface. They then programmed their Lego Mindstorms robot to navigate and complete tasks on the map.
“The feat is impressive for anyone, but more so is the fact that the team is an all-girl team,” Kristi Osterlund, communications manager for Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming, said in a press release. “Research shows that girls are keenly interested in STEM and excel at it. Yet, for a variety of reasons, girls often don’t pursue STEM—starting as early as elementary school.”
Troop 3709 leader Krista Nunnally and Sheri Sadino are co-coaches of the RoboScout Squad, which includes five local Girl Scouts.
“We were very proud of them,” Nunnally said. The competition was “a great example for younger girls to pursue science.”
She also noted the Lunar Loonies were the only all-girl team, as well as the only Girl Scout team participating in the competition in Helena.
Jessie and Katie participated directly in the competition, while Lexie served as a mentor because she was over the age limit, Nunnally said.
Nunnally further noted that all of the members of the RoboScout Squad are “extraordinary” girls who are active in numerous school activities and sports, as well as Girl Scouts.
On Nov. 5, the Lunar Loonies explored the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where they visited the Heroes and Legends exhibit and Rocket Garden, according to the press release. They also had lunch with Astronaut Tom Jones, who spoke about the evolution of meals in space. They also visited the Shuttle Atlantis exhibit and Apollo exhibit.
The following day, the girls received a personal tour of the NASA facilities from Steve Chance, project manager of NASA INSPIRE (Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience). At the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout building the girls met with Dr. Janine Captain to discuss the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations instrument. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass instrument modified to work in space, and can identify molecules at lunar landing sites.
At the International Space Station Environment Simulator the girls heard about the Veggie Program, a plant growth system developed and used by NASA in outer space environments to provide a self-sufficient and sustainable food source for astronauts as well as a means of recreation and relaxation through therapeutic gardening.
The girls then received a tour around campus and visited the Crawler/Transporter, Mobile launch pad, the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Pad 39B and the Launch Control Center where they were given a tour by Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, current NASA Launch Director for the Artemis Program.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women hold less than 28 percent of STEM jobs in the United States, but make up more than 47 percent of the U.S. workforce. Reports show that STEM occupations are growing at double the rate of other professions.
STEM is one of four pillars that form the foundation of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.
This year Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming are sponsoring nine all-girl FIRST LEGO League Robotics teams. The entire local RoboScout Squad is preparing for the FIRST LEGO state tournament in January, Nunnally said. The team also plans to compete in another challenge, ROADS (Rover Observation And Drone Survey) on Mars, in April 2020.