For many, summer means camps, beaches, amusement parks and a whole load of fun. At Girl Scout Twilight Camp, held June 18 to June 22 at Crescenta Valley Park, girls learned leadership, made new friends, created fun crafts and also touched ocean animals from tide pools in a mobile aquarium exhibit from The Aquarium of the Pacific.

Twilight Camp was held daily from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. – twilight.

Twilight Camp is mainly for Girl Scouts who are Daisies, Brownies, Juniors and Cadettes (kindergarten to sixth grade). Each year, Twilight Camp focuses on one specific topic. This year’s theme was “Scouting the Seas.” Every day was filled with crafts and fun activities to do at camp, as well as learning new songs and making new friends. Approximately 100 girls attended. Girls were assigned into one of 10 units that had names that reflected the theme: Crimson Cuttlefish, Pretty Pink Pufferfish, Orange Orcas, Green Sea Turtles, Riptides, Blue Swordfish, Starfish, Jellyfish and others.

There was a large team that helped with the day-to-day activities. The older scouts – Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors ¬– learned leadership skills by helping to plan activities and supervising the younger Girl Scouts. The PATs (Program Aide in Training) taught the younger girls songs at Singing Meadows The PAs (Program Aides) helped to watch the kids and supervised craft activities. The ULs (Unit Leads) made sure the girls were properly signed in and out of camp, and cooked dinner for their unit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The PATs, PAs, and ULs and adult leaders each chose “camp names” that also reflected the camp theme.

On the first day of camp, the girls met the leaders and joined their units. The scouts sang songs at Singing Meadows, created puppets from paper bags and learned about the ocean that would benefit earning a merit bade. On Tuesday, the girls made clam shells using paper plates and braided bracelets from yarn and beads. The girls also had their pictures taken in their unit group, and began making a boondoggle box-stitch lanyard. Suzanna Bodnar, a Brownie scout who is 7 years old, said her favorite camp activity was tying plastic lanyards during their camp dinner.

On Wednesday, the scouts painted a picture frame to hold their unit picture. They also were treated to a special activity. They saw and touched tidepool animals brought by The Aquarium of the Pacific’s traveling touch-tank. The Girl Scouts had the chance to watch and touch multi-colored sea stars and sea anemones, spiky purple sea urchins, soft orange sea cucumbers and gastropods (sea snails). A few brave girls even pet small sharks!

On Thursday, the scouts made an ocean in a bottle using oil, water, toy fish and shells. The girls also did badgework and enjoyed an all-camp barbecue dinner. On Friday, the girls created jellyfish out of paper plates and ribbons and also took home their camp unit picture in the frames they painted. The families brought dinner and ate with the Girl Scouts, spreading out blankets and chairs on the lawn under the shady trees of Crescenta Valley Park. The leaders were recognized, and the Girl Scouts were presented with their scouting badges to cap off their Twilight Summer Camp “Scouting the Seas.”

Submitted by Lori BODNER

Photos by Jackie BODNER

  Jackie BODNER, Lori BODNER