Meet the high school sport that builds robots — and the next generation of engineers

Claire Montegut (second from right), 16, and Anika Zhou (right), 17, are members of the Space Cookies, a FIRST Robotics Competition team composed of all Girl Scouts. Here they fix their robot's roller "claw" designed to pick up cones and cubes to score points. (Mark Leong for NPR)

On a Thursday night inside a NASA hangar in Mountain View, Calif., a group of teenage girls cluster around two large tables strewn with wires, hex wrenches and laptops. As they work, a machine rises in their midst — a black aluminum frame loaded with advanced tech like high-powered brushless motors and 3D vision systems. Say hello to the Space Cookies, aka FIRST Robotics Competition Team 1868, a Girl Scout troop that builds tournament robots.

Right now, over 3,300 high school and community teams like the Space Cookies are assembling around the world in anticipation of the upcoming season of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. This giant non-profit/sport league started in 1989 as a local program to inspire New Hampshire teens in engineering and technology fields. It has grown to encompass more than 83,000 high schoolers in 31 countries.