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Photo by Tim Stephens
Libby Stone, 8, of Homewood, enjoys a S'more during the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama's attempt to set a world record for most people making S'mores at one time on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at the Girl Scouts DreamLab in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Tim Stephens
Libby Stone, 8, of Homewood enjoys a S'more during the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama's attempt to set a world record for most people making S'mores at one time on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at the Girl Scouts DreamLab in Vestavia Hills.
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Members of Girl Scout Troop 26239 of Vestavia Hills pose for a photo after an afternoon of S'mores during the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama's attempt to set a world record for most people making S'mores at one time on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at the Girl Scouts DreamLab in Vestavia Hills. Shown from left to right are: Anne Clare Jackson, Ellie Weldon, Isla Drace, Adeline Pasion, Sam Braden, Harper King, Mykha Jerez, Hana Abouelkassem and Megan White. Also shown are leaders Jenn White (back row, left) and Jenn White.
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Photo by Tim Stephens
Adeline Williams, Aria Shelley and Libby Stone roast S'mores during the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama's attempt to set a world record for most people making S'mores at one time on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at the Girl Scouts DreamLab in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Tim Stephens
Girl Scouts and parents roast S'mores during the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama's attempt to set a world record for most people making S'mores at one time on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at the Girl Scouts DreamLab in Vestavia Hills.
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Photo by Tim Stephens
Ainsley Sanderson, Victoria Farley, Lillian Barnes and Samatha Farley pose for a photo with their S'mores after the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama's attempt to set a world record for most people making S'mores at one time on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at the Girl Scouts DreamLab in Vestavia Hills.
Girl Scouts from Vestavia Hills and across Alabama gathered Sunday afternoon to smash together chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers, and along the way, perhaps set a world record.
They’ll have to wait a few weeks to learn whether they were successful, but that wasn’t really the focus Sunday when there were sweet treats to roast and then devour.
The record for most people making S’mores at one time was most recently set by a group in North Dakota in May. Their mark of 1,150 people was the target Sunday, and organizers for the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama were confident it was surpassed.
“We have 14 locations across the top half of the state and a few in South Alabama as well participating at the same time,” said Kit Killingsworth, girl experience manager for the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama and one of the event organizers. “Once all that is tabulated we'll be able to send our numbers off to be verified.
Killingsworth said about 450 people participated at the Girl Scouts DreamLab in Vestavia Hills on Sunday, and that large numbers were expected at the other sites – including in Trussville and Chelsea – when they coordinated their record push for 2:30 pm. Sunday.
When it was over and the fires were extinguished, was Killingsworth ready to declare a new record? “I’m feeling pretty confident,” Killingsworth said. “We should hear back in eight to 12 weeks.”
"The hardest part for some of the girls who roasted their S'mores was not eating it until it was officially done," joked Kimberly Selzer, Director of Membership and Support Analytics for GSNCA.
Of course, if you’re going to set a world record for S’mores, it’s appropriate that it would be Girl Scouts.
“Girl Scouts are the ones who created S'mores,” Killingsworth noted. “The first time a S'more recipe appeared was in 1927 in a Girl Scout cookbook called, “Trailing and Camping with the Girl Scouts.” And they were called Some Mores.
“So that got abbreviated to S'mores and it's been a Girl Scout camp classic since then.”
Girl Scouts can earn patches for participating in events like the s'more roast or completing a task like first aid training. For many of the Girl Scouts, a world record patch would be a shining addition to their sash or vest.
Selzer added, "They get a S'mores patch that they can put on their vest for participating today. If we break the world record, anyone who participated, not just the Scouts, can buy a world record patch."
In Vestavia Hills, girls gathered in the parking lot of the new Girl Scout DreamLab, which served as the motivation for this record attempt. The 11,300-square foot facility opened in August with state-of-the-art opportunities for Girl Scouts from across the state to enjoy, including:
– 6 STEM labs
– Arts section
– Auditorium
– Huddle spaces
– Media center
– Computer lab
– Mock campsite & climbing all – Retail space
“Anything a girl needs is in the DreamLab,” Killingsworth said. And now it might even be known as the site for a world record.
To join or learn more about GSNCA, follow this link to their website.
