Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls

In July 2022, ORCSGirls ran the Environment Monitoring Camp for the second time. At the camp, the girls learned how to take environmental readings through a device called the ESP32-S2 TFT Feather . Using Adafruit ’s technology, they programmed a working sensor that they could access through their computers. They used Adafruit’s IO program to create unique ways to display their data. They also made an app on code.org using an API from Adafruit. Two of the counselors, Katie and Kristen, are experienced with environmental technology. After participating in the camp, they expanded their knowledge to create a ProjectCSGirls entry. Now they’ve written about their experiences to share here. Katie shares her experience… “When I took the Enviro Monitoring Camp last summer, I learned so much about sensors and the environment. Afterwards, I kept exploring technology and took more environment monitoring classes. Eventually Kristen and I paired up for ProjectCSGirls and created a device using th

It's a wrap. Twelve girls in grades 7-10 participated in our Smart Robots Camp held at the Blount County Public Library in Maryville, TN from June 27-30. This camp was originally scheduled for March 2020 and was the first event  Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls cancelled because of the pandemic.  During the four day camp the girls learned about machine learning, coding in Python and programming the smart JetBot robot, and teach it to avoid obstacles and follow objects or roads. Pair programming where girls team up and act as 'drivers' and 'navigators' working with the robots turned out to be a great way to learn and work as a team - in the words of Leah, a raising 8th grader " The Smart Robot Camp was an amazing experience where I not only learned more about robots, but discovered the possibilities of pair programming and teamwork. ” Training the robots to avoid obstacles (and not drive off the table) or follow a road really illustrated the concept of machine