Girl Scouts works with the SETI Institute to skyrocket girls’ interest in STEM
August 17, 2017
August 19-21, through a unique partnership with NASA, Girl Scouts of South Carolina Mountains to Midlands will host girls, aged 12-18, from around the nation for our Eyes to the Sky Destination. During the three day immersion, we will expose girls to the world of Space Science in a unique learning environment that is both fun, and experiential.
Today Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands and Girl Scouts of the USA announced new details about a five-year program called Reaching for the Stars: NASA Science for Girl Scouts. Funded by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and led by the SETI Institute the program offers girls opportunities to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and math through new Space Science Badges.
The new badges will be offered for girls at every level of Girl Scouts. These badges, combined with GSUSA’s larger suite of national STEM programming, provide a seamless pathway for girls to develop a lifetime love of the cosmos and its endless possibilities. Badges range from Space Science Explorer, which includes Daisies in kindergarten and first grade to the fundamentals of space science, to Space Science Master which engages Ambassadors in grades 11-12 in their own explorations of space based research that NASA scientists are conducting.
By 2019, the Space Science badges will join GSUSA’s already robust roster of STEM badges.
Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands is currently piloting the space badges. Eight Daisy and eight Brownie troops stepped up to lead like Girl Scouts by volunteering time to test the Space Science badges. Our girls are learning about space science and engaging in scientific inquiry while they explore the sky.
This announcement coincides with the Eyes to the Sky Solar Eclipse Destination here in the Upstate and Midlands.
For more than 100 years, Girl Scouting has helped girls develop positive values and become active, responsible leaders in their communities. With emphasis on personal growth and leadership development through service to others, Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands serves approximately 11,450 girls, grades K5-12, and 4,700 adults in 22 counties of central and western South Carolina, including Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, and Union
