The SPACE COOKIES stem pledge KIT

While FIRST teams all over the world are committed to increasing the number of female participants in robotics, many find it is difficult to engage girls. We are often asked for advice on how to reach girls and provide exposure to FIRST robotics.

Why is this important? Because over the next decade, the U.S. will need an astounding one million more STEM professionals than it’s on track to produce. Where will they come from? With your FIRST team’s help, they’ll come from Girl Scouts!

In 2017, Girl Scouts of the USA announced the STEM Pledge, a groundbreaking national initiative to reduce the gender gap by putting 2.5 million girls through hands-on STEM programs. The Space Cookies were proud to be part of the official launch and have developed materials and workshops to assist Girl Scouts working on STEM badges.

Since then, hundreds of girls have completed some of the most challenging robotics requirements while experiencing the fun and excitement of FIRST. A signature part of our strategy: providing custom tours at competitions and having girls engage with other teams.

Many teams asked how they can participate, leading to the development of the Space Cookies STEM Pledge Kit, a “boxed set” of all the materials necessary to host girls working on their robotics badges at local competitions. We are pleased to make these materials available to all FIRST teams.