Girl Scouts Explore Science and Technology

June 16, 2004

By Marion F. Swan, staff writer

	Testing various hand-washing methods earned Peri a Blue Ribbon.
	Chicago Gold Award recipient Jennifer encourages sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Clissold Elementary School to strive for excellence, stay focused, and have fun as they explore career opportunities.

Girl Scouts across the country are stepping up to assume their roles in a world that is becoming increasingly dependent on science and technology. Here are just a few examples of how today's Girl Scouts are preparing to become the science teachers, doctors, and researchers of tomorrow.

The Albert Einstein Apple

Peri is an 11-year-old who dreams of becoming a middle school science teacher. For her Girl Scout Bronze Award project, she used the Let's Get Cooking Badge's "Keeping It Clean" activity to test various hand-washing techniques and how they affect mold growth. For the purposes of her experiment, she used her dirty hands as a control and tested three different methods of cleaning dirty hands—washing with soap and water, using a hand sanitizer, and wiping them with a simple paper towel.

Peri began the test by petting the neighbor's dog, wiping her hands on an apple slice, and then putting the apple slice in a jar. She used one of the hand-cleaning methods before touching the apple slice again. This process was repeated for five samples in each category and the mold growth was observed over a seven-day period. With the exception of one test that got cross-contaminated, soap and water proved to be the most effective way of cleaning your hands. And what did cross-contamination produce? As Peri described it, "The apple looked like Einstein, with long white growths mimicking his well-known hairstyle."

After winning a blue ribbon in her school science fair, Peri was chosen as one of three girls in the sixth grade to compete in the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair, where she received another blue ribbon.

From Girl Scout Summer Camp to Pre-Med

Liz is a 19-year-old biology/pre-med student who credits Girl Scouts with providing her with unique and challenging opportunities to explore her lifelong interests in science. "My favorite was the Microbial Institute summer camp at George Washington University where we studied biology and bacteria. I loved it! It led to my Gold Award project and convinced me to major in biology/pre-med."

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Liz tackled teaching biology and other sciences to students in the first and third grades. She also spent last summer volunteering at a technology summer camp. "They were looking for volunteers with a science background so I quickly raised my hand."

Currently busy with her college studies and working as an emergency room clerk at a local hospital, Liz hopes to be able to squeeze in some time to serve as a volunteer at a Girl Scout camp this summer.

A Gold Award Recipient Makes Chicago Proud

Jennifer is a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient, an honor student who graduated summa cum laude from Illinois State University, and a lifetime member of Girl Scouts of the USA. With an incredible inner drive, Jennifer majored in biology and minored in chemistry. She is one of nine students nationwide admitted to the MSTP (Medical Scientist Training Program) that will provide her with an eight-year full scholarship to her choice of either Stanford or Vanderbilt University. Her end goal is a career in academic medicine in which she can work as a physician with patients, a researcher, and a teacher in the field of neuroscience.

Girls Go Tech Ad Campaign

In an ongoing effort to encourage girls like Peri, Liz, and Jennifer to pursue their dreams, Girl Scouts of the USA has partnered with the Ad Council in a national, multi-media public service advertising (PSA) campaign. This campaign and the new interactive Web site are part of the organization's ongoing effort to prepare and encourage today's girls to seize the technological opportunities and challenges of the 21st century.

For more information, visit www.girlsgotech.org, read the news release about Girls Go Tech, or contact your local Girl Scout council.