Vestavia Girl Scouts Event Focuses on STEM

The Vestavia Service Unit of Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama hosted its first Group Troop Thursday, September 5, 2019.

Girl Scouts from all Vestavia troops were invited to participate in activities related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Over 60 girls in kindergarten through fifth grade attended the event, which was held at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church, and earned Mechanical Engineering badges, while Cadette Girl Scouts in sixth through eighth grade assisted the younger Daisy, Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts. 

The Girl Scouts learned about the engineering design process: defining a need,brainstorming, designing, building, testing, redesigning and sharing results.

“The girls worked individually at first, then together,” said troop leader Diane Worthington. “When they teamed up, they came up with more solutions and learned from each other. It was amazing to how they solved problems, and they really had a lot of fun.”

Daisy Girl Scouts in kindergarten and first grade built roller coasters using tubular pipe insulation and were challenged to adjust the design to affect speed and direction. 

Brownie Girl Scouts in second and third grade learned about potential energy, kinetic energy, force and gravity by designing Leap Bots made with springs and measuring how design changes affected performance.

Junior Girl Scouts in fourth and fifth grade designed and built mini cars powered by balloons and learned about jet propulsion, thrust and making prototypes.

According to Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., research shows that girls are keenly interested in STEM and excel at it, yet for a variety of reasons, often don’t pursue STEM—starting as early as elementary school.  But according to the Girl Scouts Research Institute, Girl Scouts are more likely than non-Girl Scouts to participate in a STEM activity and to pursue a career in STEM. 

“At Girl Scouts, girls learn how they can use STEM to help their community, improve their world, and build the future,” said Karen Peterlin, CEO of Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama. “And they do all this through hands-on learning in a girl-focused, girl-led environment.” 

Just this summer, Girl Scouts released 30 new STEM-related badges. Now girls from kindergarten through senior year of high school can earn badges such as Robotics, Coding for Good, and Cybersecurity, and can complete the Computer Science, Engineering, and Outdoor STEM Journeys.

Submitted by Allie Hulcher.