Girl Scouts are Updated on Latest Project News
Fascinating experiences can happen spur of the moment, as when Wendy Chin reached out to project officials about 10 days before Christmas Eve.
“The kids were out of school and wanted to explore what engineering was all about. With the new bridge in our backyard, we saw an opportunity to learn about the engineering of that bridge,” Chin, leader of Troop 2483 in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, said.
Now in her second year as troop leader, Chin and co-leader Claudia Segovia aim to present the girls with STEM-related opportunities to expand their scouting experience beyond selling cookies. “Our reward is seeing them grow, have confidence, find innovative ways to do things and make the world a better place.”
The 5th-graders learned about the project via an interactive presentation that included a model of layers below the river’s surface and then saw it up close at the viewing area.
“It’s exciting to see the bridge being built,” Chin said. The girls loved the presentation and asked questions ranging from the crane that collapsed last summer to specifics about the new spans.
Her nine-member troop likes being engaged, as they were when Sleepy Hollow Mayor Ken Wray spoke with them prior to the November election while working towards their Inside Government badge.
“They asked questions about his campaign, issues he supported, projects he implemented, town improvements, why he wanted to run for office and about his family,” Chin recalled.
The Girl Scouts’ new campaign is G.I.R.L. — an acronym for go-getter, innovator, risk-taker and leader — is designed to help them unleash their potential. At a previous troop meeting the scouts did a self-portrait and discussed which of those four qualities they represent and which they wanted to strengthen in themselves.
Currently Troop 2483 is working on the Bronze Award that requires 20 hours of community service. “They’ve been talking about anti-bullying, overcoming stereotypes and trying to see how to communicate those issues in a way those kids can understand those messages.”
Photos courtesy of New York State Thruway Authority.
I’d like to know what you think.
Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017
Kaleidoscope Eyes 
Leave a comment