Meet the Green Machine

The Green Machine Team is a team of Girl Scouts who are competing for the First® Lego® League Global Innovation Award (http://fllinnovationaward.firstlegoleague.org/) which grants funding to bring inventions to market. The prize is awarded based on review of the innovation and popular vote. If we can get our team into the top 10, which is won by popular vote, we will be guaranteed consideration from the FLL judges. We are proud to represent Girl Scouts in this competition. We would like all Girl Scouts and their families to vote. Everyone can vote once every 24 hours.  Here's the direct voting link: http://fllinnovationaward.firstlegoleague.org/%E2%80%9Cwachastabb%E2%80%9D-wax-covered-hybrid-seed-tomato-turns-blue-when-infected-salmonella

Team Description: 

Our team comes from 6 different Girl Scout troops, 5 different schools and grades! Our ages are 9-14years old.  The team is called "Green Machine" and we are Girl Scouts from the West Windsor–Plainsboro Service unit.  Even though we still sell cookies our motto is "We are not just about cookies anymore!"  We compete in the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego® League Robotics games and this year we won the first place Champions Prize at our regional qualifier. This means that our team received high marks in each of 4 judging categories: Core values, Robot design, Research, and Robot games!  Our robot is an autonomous (no remote control) machine, built to score points by performing mission tasks. We call her Miss Cookie Crusher. We are proud to be Girl Scouts and will represent Girl Scouts once again at the FLL Championship Games  at the University of Pennsylvania on January 28.  

Team Research: 

Every year the FLL games has a special theme and teams must do research to come up with a novel way to solve problems that are related to the theme. We use our creativity to design or modify an existing solution to a real world problem.  This year the theme was ‘FOOD FACTOR’ and the challenge was to invent a novel way to keep food safe. Teams from all over the world came up with many ideas such as ultraviolet light lunch boxes and automatic sanitizing counter tops. Our idea is called ‘Wachasttab’ or wax covered hybrid seed tomato that turns blue when infected with Salmonella.

Brief Submission Description: 

We started our research on our project by visiting and interviewing growers at the local farmers markets to learn about problems they faced with food safety. Everyone knew about the contamination of raw foods with Salmonella, but they agreed that it is very difficult to detect until someone gets sick. Besides potatoes, people eat tomatoes more than any other fruit or vegetable.  In this country almost all tomatoes come from large farms that are supplied with seeds from 3 companies; Monsanto, Heinz and Dupont. We researched outbreaks of Salmonella and read papers about new discoveries for detecting Salmonella  in tomatoes. We talked with experts at two universities and came up with our own solution. We examined data from some preliminary experiments and realized that it is possible to genetically modify vegetables so that they change color in the presence of Salmonella.

Wachasttab is a patent pending form of genetically modified plant to prevent the spread of disease from Salmonella. The process can be applied to any plant, but our project specifically targets tomatoes. Salmonella can colonize tomatoes at any stage of the food chain, from seed to marketplace. Wachasttab is a method to protect seeds with probiotics  and genetically modify tomatoes so that they can be identified if contaminated with Salmonella. The contaminated tomatoes are not meant to be eaten-they are meant to be destroyed. Because the modified genes are not actually activated unless the plant is exposed to Salmonella, consumers who object to eating genetically modified produce should not be concerned. We hope that one of the large tomato seed companies (Monsanto, Heinz, or Dupont) will use our idea to help improve the safety of raw tomatoes. 

Making the Most of Snowy Camp

Twenty inches of snow only made the camping trip for Troops 62424 and 62404 from Williamstown more exciting. Instead of canceling their reservation at Camp Sacajawea South, the leaders adapted the activities. Girl Scout Tatianna said "We went on a hike and looked at the animal tracks. The leaders taught us to find the ones the deer made." Several of the girls said they might have played outside in the snow at home but this was really fun. "Have you ever painted a picture in the snow?" Carleigh asked. "We did!" 

The leaders came prepared with food coloring and spray bottles for the girls to create their masterpieces. Cassie, Alexis, and Courtney shared the same thoughts that most girls enjoy about camping weekends - spending time with friends. "Our other friends thought we were crazy to go to camp with the forecasted storm but we were prepared." "Well, we did forget one thing," a leader reported. "We forgot the pancake syrup so we made it from scratch. Sometimes you can't easily go to the store so we tried something new. However, as soon as the camp road was plowed, we made a quick trip out for our beloved coffee." So, while the news stations covered every angle of the snowstorm, these girls created their own memories. Yes, they went to camp the weekend of the big February nor'easter.

From Ambassador to Adult: How to Transition Girl Scouting into College and Beyond

Just a few short months ago, you marched in to Pomp and Circumstance, listened to some bittersweet graduation speeches, and held that permanent symbol of your past four years of hard work in your hand - you graduated from high school.

Now it's September, and you're probably starting on a new chapter in your life - whether you're working for a couple years, pursuing a career in the arts, working in the armed forces, or pursuing a higher degree of education, you've changed - you're an adult now.  And as we've all learned courtesy of Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility."  Perhaps you've been swamped with registering for classes and shopping for college or been overwhelmed with the demands of daily life, but have you taken a moment to think, "How can I continue with Girl Scouts?"

Consider some of these suggestions to give back to the community that gave you so much:

DISCOVER:
Contact your local Girl Scout council - whether it's GSCSNJ or a new council, find out how you can volunteer.  To find a council in your new locale, check out http://girlscouts.org/councilfinder/ and plug in your new zip code.

Serve on a community committee - did you earn your Gold Award?  See if there are any openings available as a member of the council's Gold Award committee!

See what community service opportunities are available in your area - see if you can help a local Girl Scout troop by assisting them in volunteering in your new community.

CONNECT:
Find a club or group at your school for your particular interest - Love ballroom dancing? Enjoy writing newspaper articles?  Check out the club fair and join a club at your new school of your own passion to see if you can work with the members to plan an event for local Girl Scouts.

Join a group that serves women's interest related to your profession - Engineer?  Look for a chapter of Society of Women Engineers.  Interested in business?  See if there's a Women in Business Club.  Look on your college's website at the club directory to find the group that best matches your professional interests.  I'll be joining USWIB (Undergraduate Stern Women in Business) at NYU - I talked to their officers at the club fair and found out they are working on collaborations with local Girl Scouts!

Work with Greek Life - Greek life big at your college?  Interested in rushing this fall?  Most sororities serve the community as part of their activities - see which ones would want to work with Girl Scouts!

TAKE ACTION:
Develop an outreach department - create or assist in developing an outreach department in a club, and have your club develop programming linked to Girl Scouts.

Run badge workshops or journey programming - collaborate with leaders and create your own pathway for helping Girl Scouts discover, connect, and take action.

Chair a Thinking Day event - chair a Thinking Day event and see which cultural clubs on campus would be willing to volunteer to help your cause.

Create a chapter of Campus Girl Scouts - if your school does not have a chapter, find five friends and petition to your college or university to start a chapter of Campus Girl Scouts.  For more information, check out http://www.girlscouts.org/join/campus/ .

To all the soon-to-be alumnae (after all, we're still technically ambassadors until October 30th!), consider these options as your transition into your new life as an adult and as an Adult Girl Scout.  If none of these seems right for you, develop your own adult pathway!

Yours in Girl Scouting,
Kat Corson

From One Girl Scout to Another - Your Right to Vote

Hey girls my name is Kathlyn and I have been a Girl Scouts for 10 years. I wouldn't change it for the world. I encourage all girls to do there Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. It is a lot of work but it makes you have a good feeling about yourself after you’re done. Enough about me let's get to the topic at hand, it is almost one month from the Girl Scout of Central & Southern NJ Annual Meeting. I hope you have all registered for the meeting. If not, everyone still has time.

 Any registered Girl Scout 14 and older can vote. Last year we voted on getting a proxy vote. You can read all about that on our website www.gscsnj.org/delegates.php. Last year's speaker spoke about the Journey's. There were booths about each level Journey's, so you could walk around and get information about them. This year, the guest speaker is Kathy Cloninger, CEO of the Girl Scout of the USA. She is the leader of the Girl Scouts in the whole country.

You can meet girls from all over our Council's area. Last year I meet two girls that I still talk to at least once a month. Last year everything was supposed to end at 3:30PM, but we had to wait so we could get enough people to vote. This year, because of proxy voting, you can vote by proxy if you can’t make it. Last year it was on the same day as the PSAT's. This year it's the week after it. You can still make it if you have a game or practice after 3:30 PM. So, what are you waiting for? Vote or register today!


Yours in Girl Scouting,
Kathlyn