In December, a group of twenty girls created robots to help Santa's reindeer find their way home. This was the second Robogals Day in Robotics at the University of Queensland—an all-day workshop for high school-aged girls to develop skills in building and programming robots. Some of the girls had attended the previous Day in Robotics in September, others had robotics experience through their school or other programs, and some were entirely new to robotics. Whichever their experience level, the girls all enjoyed themselves, and were able to build and program a robot with the help of our five Robogals volunteers: Jess, Erin, Marnie, Betsy, and Jack.

After lunch, amid the robot construction, there was a break for some of the Robogals volunteers to demonstrate robots they had created. The girls were particularly fascinated by Roger, Erin's humanoid robot with some impressive skills and tricks; they giggled while playing games with Marnie and Jack's chasing robot (which had been draped in tinsel for the occasion)!

After being interrupted briefly by a rainstorm—we had to make a quick run back to the lab, managing to keep the robots dry, and the girls mostly so—the girls' robots were personalised and decorated for Christmas with tinsel, feathers, pipe cleaners, and fabric scraps. The robots 'outfits', as an end result, were indeed very unique per individual. Everyone enjoyed watching all their new little, sparkly LEGO friends wander around the lab as the programming began.

Since 2010, Robogals London has been running robotics workshops for primary and secondary school students. We invite schoolgirls to Imperial College London for lessons to learn simple robotics and be inspired by the sheer vibrancy of an exciting university environment.

Our preparation began in December, and involved endless meetings with our Lessons Manager and IET contact, Rob Heaton. We eventually came up with the idea of barcode scanners: we built a scanner with the Lego brick, and got children to respond by building barcodes using LEGO pieces, as fast as possible. This would show students the impact of SET (science, engineering and technology) on our lives, and how simple the concepts really are!

Prior to the fair, we designed the layout of our stand, the instruction sheets for the children to use and flyers that we wanted to give away during the fair. The hands-on session for the children had to be prepared and planned, coordination was needed to set up the stand and transport necessary equipment. Most importantly, volunteers were scheduled and trained in time for the fair. We had never participated in such a large external event, so this was a great learning experience for us!

During the fair, students competed to build a barcode from the LEGO parts. We were surprised by how fast the students could build them! One of our youngest participants,(who was 7 years old) managed to build an entire robot barcode on her own!

Our stand was visited by different age groups of young students as well as their teachers. We spoke to many school teachers, and they expressed interest in our workshops and left their contacts with us. We also had a list for the students to put their contact details down so we could contact their schools subsequently.

A lot of schools participated in Big Bang Fair, and some of them even travelled from as far as Manchester to attend the Big Bang Fair! We also spoke to companies about potential partnership as well as sponsorship. So this Fair was a most fruitful event for Robogals London!

Our success truly comes from our volunteers from Imperial College and the IET volunteers who worked with us for the fair. They were very enthusiastic and gave their time to promote Robogals in the Big Bang Fair. IET London supported us all the way to the day of Big Bang Fair, with time and mentorship, and a lot of advice on how to proceed. Our thanks go also to Mr. Rob Heaton, who helped us out so much with the fair, and without whom we would not have been able to participate!

Big Bang Fair has definitely been one of the most successful events we have held since our establishment. Hence in the meantime, we are making preparations for the upcoming National Big Bang Fair in July 2011! We can’t wait!

Chapter Updates

Global Robogals Founder Marita Cheng starred as a panelist on ABC1's New Inventors aired on Wednesday 16 March 2011. The episode was named the Robots Special because all the inventions presented were innovative robots made by Australian roboticists. Robogals even participated in a sumo robot competition on the show! If you missed the show and would like to catch Marita and the sumo robot, Val, in action, you can see the 27-minute episode here.

Perth After a successful O’Day campaign, Perth signed up 50 new members. Additionally, in a major event for the year, 3 of the executive committee are heading to Geraldton on the 7th and 8th of April for the Scitech Science Awareness Festival. This trip was only made possible after a new sponsor, SinoSteel, agreed to fully cover the cost of their airfares and accommodation.

Brisbane Brisbane has been busy with getting 50 new members over O-week and selling 800 cupcakes, earning $600. This weekend they’re having a massive workshop for members, having been teaching at a local school every Saturday (and will continue to do so until August)! Brisbane is also working with a state school to structure a 12-week lesson plan to be taught by Robogals Volunteers.

Adelaide Brace yourself, because Adelaide has been awarded a grant from their university for up to $15,000! The money will cover 10 LEGO kits, 10 batteries and chargers, software, license, and 10 laptops. Adelaide is also going to the Women in Tech challenge – a 2-day event in early June, with 100-140 students visiting every day!

Melbourne Melbourne is teaching 4 schools this semester which is a great start to the year. They also got 15 new sign ups in just one hour at an engineering BBQ--a brilliant idea! To help out with the rural and regional project, Melbourne is also trying to get laptops donated.

Sydney Sydney is busy organising to teach 6 schools this semester, which is a massive undertaking. They have also managed 65 new members this year! Great momentum Sydney!

New Zealand Our newest chapter is gearing up for an exciting year! Dunedin is partnering with their computer science robotics club. They're doing a terrific job, and our thoughts are with the committee and their families in Christchurch.

Despite end-of-year exams looming, our UK/EU chapters have been hard at Robogals work!

Edinburgh chapter ran a workshop for new members, managing to get 10 new members!  As well as that, through their diligent sponsorship efforts, they are now the proud owners of a LEGO NXT robot of their own!

Leeds (new chapter!) has signed up for STEM Ambassadorship and been establishing links with the other Robotic and Mechanical Societies at their university, as well as putting posters up to increase their visibility at Leeds!

Sheffield (new chapter) attended the FIRST LEGO League heats at the local school and met 8 very excited schools in the process!  As well, they have applied for STEM Ambassadorship and pitched Robogals as a new Union Club to get more support from their university!

Manchester gave a presentation at an event celebrating International Women's day and have spoken to the Museum of Science and Industry to form a collaboration!

London chapter taught at 3 schools in March alone, totalling 60 girls!  As well as that, Sonya, the EU/UK Director gave a talk at the Global Citizenship Symposium in March to talk about the logistics of setting up a club.  Speaking at this event was a  recognition of Robogals London as a "top outreach program" at Imperial!!

What do you study?

Mechanical Engineering (Nuclear). So instead of the manufacturing-related modules, I take up nuclear-related modules (e.g. Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear Physics, Socio-econs of Nuclear Power). We mainly learn about different types of nuclear powered plants i.e. how these plants work, the materials, radioactivity, etc.

Why Engineering?

• I think it's cool!
• My family and relatives were a huge driving influence
• Practicality stepped in, since engineering qualifications open you up to a variety of job opportunities! 
• I like math and science. Engineering is the perfect combination of the two!

After actually getting into engineering, I realized that the challenges in studying it are exhilarating! It’s quite enjoyable.

What have you done with Robogals?

What are your hobbies outside study and Robogals?

Dancing, especially salsa and street dance!