Girl Scouts FIRST LEGO League Team Takes Part in White House Science Fair

Two Girl Scouts, Catherine and Summer, and troop leader Susannah Rousculp represented their FIRST LEGO League Team known as the Atomic Flying Pickles from New Mexico at the White House Science Fair. The team was invited to attend after sharing their invention of an evaporative cooling headband for seniors with the White House Office on Science and Technology.

“When students excel in math and science, they help America compete for the jobs and industries of the future,” said President Obama on WhiteHouse.gov. “That’s why I’m proud to celebrate outstanding students at the White House Science Fair, and to announce new steps my Administration and its partners are taking to help more young people succeed in these critical subjects."

The Washington Post reports that the team developed the evaporative cooling headband, as part of their "Senior Solutions" project, to provide the elderly with a non-pharmaceutical solution to insomnia. The cooling headband they tested is filled with gel that soaks up water and stays hydrated for hours. Worn at night, the headband offers evaporative cooling action that may bring down the temperature of the frontal cortex to reduce racing thoughts that can keep the elderly awake at night.

The girls presented their project along with one of their robots at the fair, which President Obama hosted to celebrate student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country.

"We'd like to thank the White House for the opportunity to be part of this important science fair. To expose girls to STEM activities and careers, our council partnered with the New Mexico First Lego League," said Peggy Sanchez Mills, Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails. "We're delighted that the girls' exploration into STEM has brought them all the way to White House Science Fair. We believe each of the young ladies is a wonderful example of future leaders who have the potential to change the world for the better. This is what happens when a community invests in a girl; when we invest in a girl we invest in our future."

"I am so excited and honored to be going to the White House and to be able to meet other students from around our country doing STEM related projects," said Catherine. "I think this will be a great experience for me and my teammate. It's great to be representing Girl Scouts and to be sharing all the new STEM activities we are doing. My team and I won the state FLL Champion's Award for inspiring others about the excitement of science, and I hope that other girls will be encouraged to see how fun STEM activities can be."