The Sisterhood of Amateur Radio (SOAR), in conjunction with the Girl Scout Council of Southern Nevada, hosted a Radio and Wireless Tech Field Day on February 3 in Las Vegas, for more than 60 girls and their adult chaperones. ARRL began offering its Radio and Wireless Technology Patch Program for Girl Scouts in 2016. The program defines the requirements for Girl Scouts to earn the patch at the Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador levels and provides a platform for participants to learn about wireless technology, including Amateur Radio, and to inspire girls to learn the fundamentals of radio communication and wireless technology. It also prompts participants to take action in their communities to apply their newfound knowledge to connect people, provide safety, and to kindle an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects and careers.

In addition to hands-on activities, the Girl Scouts in Las Vegas also learned about emergency and public service communications, and explored ways wireless technology is used in everyday life and in the workplace. The SOAR participants enthusiastically shared what it means to be an Amateur Radio operator and demonstrated how they can communicate around the world via Amateur Radio.

“As a girl-led and girl-focused organization, Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada understands the importance of providing science and engineering educational programming to girls of all ages,” said Linda Bridges, Chief of Communications for Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada. “By partnering with SOAR, we look forward to inspiring all Girl Scouts to pursue a lifelong love of communication and global goodwill.”

Highlights of the event were spelling out their name in Morse code and hearing it via a code practice oscillator, learning about antenna directivity and participating in a fox hunt, and actually talking on the radio as well as using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) modes.

Todd Wilson, WH6DWF, coordinated the *ISLANDS* Conference Server, IRLP 9256, the StarLink System Hub 357087, and DODROPIN 355800, and AllStar, illustrating how Amateur Radio can be used on a tablet or a smart phone, in addition to traditional radio equipment.

ARRL Nevada Section Manager John Bigley, N7UR, expressed appreciation for “the contribution of all the participants who took time out of their day to speak to the girls to demonstrate to these young girls what Amateur Radio can do to connect people around the world.” -- Thanks to John Bigley, N7UR, and Nevada Section PIO Cathy Etheredge, N7HVN