Mother Daughter Dinner Show

To close up the troop year, many service units host award ceremonies and special events. Last month, Girl Scouts from the Cape Henry Service Unit put their creativity to the test and constructed outfits and accessories using duct tape or newspaper for a Mother Daughter Dinner Show. Girls invited a special woman in their lives— a mother, grandmother, aunt or other significant adult female— to enjoy the meal and show with them.

Girl Scout Daisy Alanna

Creating a dress out of duct tape or newspaper is no simple feat, as many girls learned firsthand in the weeks leading up to the Mother Daughter Dinner Show. Girls spent hours working on outfit designs and figuring out how to make their ideas a reality. They folded and crimped newspaper, layered rows of colorful duct tape and put together bows, flowers and hats to make their outfits stand out.

“It took a long time to make my dress,” Girl Scout Junior Hunter said. “The hard part was making sure that what I made would actually fit me so that I could wear it in the show.”

While the girls had fun preparing for a fashion show, they were also gaining important life skills for the future. As they took part in the engineering design process, they were developing problem solving and critical thinking skills, as well as learning about adaptability and practicality. In today’s world, where women hold only about 25 percent of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers, it is important to give girls unique and creative opportunities to pursue their interests in building things and solving problems.

Jen Lewis, Girl Scout Junior Ivy and Deanna LeBlanc

All of the entries into the Mother Daughter Dinner Show were judged by WAVY-TV Reporters Deanna LeBlanc and Jen Lewis, as well as Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast CEO Tracy Keller. Prizes were awarded for creativity and judge’s choice.

Although many Girl Scout troops take a break for the summer, the fun doesn’t have to stop. Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast offers fun and adventure at Girl Scout camp, including a session all about engineering and design, which will take place July 19 to 24 at Camp Skimino in Williamsburg. For more information about joining Girl Scouts or attending Girl Scout camp, visit www.gsccc.org.