Girl ScoutsWhen you think of Girl Scouts, cookies may be the first things that come to mind, but beyond those these girls are doing some pretty amazing things. In Iowa, for example, a group of 11- to 13-year-old Girl Scouts, who call themselves the Flying Monkeys, has invented a prosthetic device to improve the life of a 3-year-old girl who was born without fingers.

While researching their project, they came across a website for Danielle Fairchild, a Georgia toddler navigating life with this challenge. They never met her, but created a device that allows her to do everyday things like brush her teeth and eat with a fork and a spoon. She's now able to hold and write with a pencil for the first time.

Calling it the BOB-1, they sent this video of one of their teammates using it to play the violin to Danielle's family:

According to InventorSpot, the beauty of this device is in its affordability. Many prosthetic devices are cost prohibitive, but this one is made from plastic, foam, and velcro, and could eventually mean more accessibility to devices for many more people.

The girls had no idea just how far their work would take them. It won top honors and $20,000 in the inaugural FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) Global Innovation Award, presented by the X PRIZE Foundation. They plan to use the money to get the device patented.

“When they put their minds to it, there's nothing they cannot do,” the troop's leader, Melissa Murray, told WHOTV. 

It's amazing to see what young minds can do, and such a nice spot of good news amongst what are too often gloomy headlines. You go, girls!

Are your daughters involved in Girl Scouts? What kind of cool projects do they explore?


Image via Yuki/Flickr