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- FIRST Team 3504,The Girls of
Steel, was started in the fall of 2010. The team welcomes any girl in the
Pittsburgh area, regardless of financial status. Today the team is composed
of 39 girls including 8th grade interns who want to experience a FIRST team
before making the commitment as 9th graders. The girls on the team come from
more than 20 schools and four educational options.
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About us
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FIRST Team 3504,The Girls of Steel, was started in the
fall of 2010. Initially, the team consisted of 24 girls from 12
different schools, and 4 different educational options. The team
welcomes any girl in the Pittsburgh area, regardless of
financial status.
The team is fortunate and grateful to have the support of
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the Field Robotics Center.
CMU serves as a central location for all the girls, coming from
over a 1000 square mile area, to learn and actively explore the
field of robotics. The name “Girls of Steel” was decided through
a team brainstorming session. It meshes perfectly with the
central image of our logo–Rosie the Riveter with a robotic arm.
Rosie was made during World War II, illustrating the power of
women who took over jobs in factories (producing munitions,
etc.) when the men went to war. “We Can Do It.” Rosie’s famous
saying and the symbolism of female empowerment allow girls on
the Girls of Steel team to feel that they are making a big
contribution. In a male-dominated field, the Girls of Steel
believe that it is crucial for women and girls feel respected as
strong, hard workers. FIRST Team 3504′s rookie season was
memorable. Going into the kickoff of the game “Logomotion,” no
one had a solid idea of what the season would hold. Six weeks
later, the team had completed a robot (Crush) and a minibot
(Squirt).
We won the Rookie All-Star Award at both the Pittsburgh and DC
regional competitions! This award is the equivalent of the
Chairman’s Award for rookies, and double-qualified the team to
attend the World Championships in St. Louis. There, the girls
competed against teams from all over the world and made lots of
new friends. While in St. Louis, the team was also fortunate to
go to a Black Eyed Pea’s concert celebrating the 20th
anniversary of FIRST.
2011-2012 marked the team’s 2nd year participating in FIRST. The
team grew close to 60 girls from over 20 schools. As the season
progressed, we were able to build a robot that successfully shot
basketballs, pushed down a bridge, and balanced despite being
top-heavy. We won the Engineering Inspiration Award, Website
Award, Dean’s List Finalist Award, Innovation and Control Award
and our mentors won the Volunteer of the Year Award! The
Engineering Inspiration Award qualified us to travel once again
to World Championships in St. Louis. There we one again competed
against a variety of teams from all around the world and we had
a lot of fun doing it!
The 2012-2013 season was the Girls of Steel’s third year as an
FRC team. Our robot, Eve, is able to successfully shoot discs
and climb to the first rung of the pyramid. This year we decided
to only participate in one regional. At the Pittsburgh Regional
we won the Dean’s List Finalist Award. Our team was also lucky
enough to once again receive the Engineering Inspiration Award
that qualified us to travel to the World Championships in St.
Louis. At St. Louis, our Dean’s List Finalist became one of the
ten Dean’s List Winners! We were very excited and happy.
The 2013-2014 season is our fourth year as as an FRC team. After
finishing 12 preseason training meetings, we are ready for
kickoff. We can’t wait to see what we will encounter and
accomplish as our year progresses!
Our Mission
- FIRST Robotics Team #3504: We, the Girls of Steel,
are more than just a robotics team. Our mission goes past building a robot
for competition; We work hard to give girls the skills that will last far
beyond their high-school years.
Mission Statement:
To find success in the empowerment of girls through well-developed skills in
STEM.
Our team started in 2011 with a bang! We won two Rookie All Star Awards at
the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
regional competitions in Pittsburgh and Washington D.C., which qualified us
for World Championships in St. Louis that year. Surprisingly, our robot
placed as second highest rookie team in our division, catching the attention
of media, business professionals, and companies alike.
During our team’s sophomore year, we worked on expanding our team’s presence
in Pittsburgh. We tripled the number of students on our FIRST team, giving
even more girls access to the fantastic learning environment at Carnegie
Mellon University.
We have made it our mission to not only build great robots, but also to
support women and children’s involvement in STEM (Science, Math,
Engineering, and Technology) fields. Pittsburgh was once known as the “Steel
City”, which has inspired the Girls of Steel to become a strong,
determined, and bold team. We are a notable presence in our community and
here to stay for years to come. We want to provide a place where the girls
and women of our communities will be encouraged to think both technically
and creatively. Regardless of finances or distance, FIRST Team #3504 accepts
any girl who proves herself dedicated to FIRST robotics.
We endeavor to not only inspire our peers and younger students as we have
been inspired, but we also work towards bringing the message of FIRST back
to our local communities through service projects, assemblies,
demonstrations, and other opportunities. FIRST‘s mission is our mission, and
we can make the world a better place.
Resources
Practice Field
- The 2014 Practice Field is open! We are now located in
the Strip District! There is more information in our flyer.
In 2012 and 2013, we were able to build a full scale
practice field. The practice field was open to all 30 teams in our region
and provided tools, safety, mentors, and snacks. Each year we strive to
offer a space for teams not only a place to practice, but also a forum for
collaborating and solving challenges. On the final Saturday before Bag and
Tag, we hosted a “Week Zero” event that seven FRC team participated in.
Activities included a mock FIRST competition, complete with FIRST officials.
AFRON Project
- The Girls of Steel are partnering with the
African-Robotics Network (AFRON). AFRON is an online community of teachers
and professors who are working to inspire students in the field of robotics.
We will be posting educational tools periodically for the students across
Africa.