“Imagination Meets Innovation” was the theme at Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles’ (GSGLA) Annual Family Science Festival recently on the Caltech campus in Pasadena. The event, held in association with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), brought over 2,000 Girl Scouts and their families to a fun-filled day of exploring the wonders of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), one of Girl Scouts’ five program focus areas.

“Girl Scouts is more than just cookies, crafts and camping. We’re about leadership, life skills and community service, which girls learn through activities at events like today,” said Carol Dedrich, chief external relations officer for Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, which is the largest girl-serving nonprofit agency in Los Angeles.

“For nearly 100 years Girl Scouting has helped girls have strong, hands-one experiences to become future leaders and meet the growing need for skilled science and technology professionals in the United States. This is more important now than ever before,” Dedrich added.

The science- and tech-inspired event featured GSGLA’s world renowned robotics teams and over 70 exhibitors and Girl Scout troop-hosted booths on rocketry, the environment, solar energy, animals, life and plant science, recycling, and more.

At the Time Warner booth, girls mixed the right combination of ingredients to create home-made play putty. California Solar Engineer showed how solar panels can provide energy to run a generator, which can in turn power everyday household appliances. Girls were then treated to what else, but a fresh solar power blended smoothie. Those interested in space exploration visited the JPL Rover exhibit where a replica of the Mars rover drove over girls, showing how the module moves on the planet’s rocky terrain. The girls also learned about the color spectrum, how to make dye out of natural materials, and discovered their own DNA number.

Radio show host Sandra
Tsing Loh taped the radio
pilot “The Loh Down on
Science LIVE!” in front of a live Girl Scout audience. Other exhibitors included Aquarium of the Pacific, California Science Center, Temecula Rocket Group, Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants, and the Caltech Center for Science and Engineering of Materials. This year’s science festival was sponsored by Time Warner
Cable and Symantec.

As Girl Scouts gears up to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012, Dedrich says plans are underway to host Girltopia in October 2011 to kick off the year-long celebration. The event will combine the best of GSGLA’s annual signature events, including the science festival and annual Cookie Kick-Off, and feature workshops, keynote speakers, and live performances, and will be open to the public.  To join, volunteer, reconnect, or donate to Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, visit www.girlscoutsLA.org.

Contributed by GSGLA

  girl scouts, jpl