My First Year as a Girl Scout Leader

By Emily Holmes, leader of Girl Scout Troop 723 in Moyock

My first year as a Girl Scout troop leader was a great success. I started out with seven girls in mid-October and eight more girls joined the troop by the time summer came around. All of them were first year Daisies, half in kindergarten and half in first grade. During our first year, 12 girls completed earned all of their Petals, and the remaining three are not far behind.

All of my girls participated in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Together, they sold more than 2,500 boxes of cookies. About half of the girls sold more than 200 boxes and one sold more than 600 boxes! My girls also participated in parades, took part in Earth Day activities, went caroling and attended World Thinking Day, just to name a few of the wonderful things we did this year. We had an end of year party where we awarded the girls their Petals, rewards from the cookie program and fun patches. The girls earned a combined 130 fun patches this year!

Our entire troop renewed for next year, and we had three moms step up to become co-leaders. As a leader, I have become CPR/AED/First Aid certified, completed Outdoor I/II training, attended Girl Scout Program Basics I/II as well as many online trainings. We have had a great year and we have learned so much. I am already excited about next year— half of my girls will be bridging to Brownies in the fall and new adventures will begin.

Building a Stronger Bond

Last winter when Girl Scout Troop 365 in Moyock visited the Currituck House, an assisted living facility, they realized visiting the center and helping residents wasn’t the only service the Currituck House needed. While putting a smile on residents’ faces during a holiday craft activity, they noticed two children who were there visiting their grandmother. They were just itching to get into the action. Looking around, members of Troop 365 realized there wasn’t much in the activity room to entertain children visiting, so they began brainstorming ideas to change that.

The troop decided that they would like to build some shelves that they could fill with games, books and DVDs that would not only keep children occupied during visits, but also facilitate more enjoyable interactions across generations. After gaining permission to complete their project from the activities director at the Currituck House, the girls sprang into action. They visited local hardware stores, learning about wood and materials they would need to build shelves. They took multiple trips to the Currituck House to measure the space, keeping in mind that they would need to leave plenty of room for wheelchairs and walkers to get around in the activity room. The troop members ended up designing and building three low, rectangular shelves.

“Talented parents and family members brought their tools to show the girls how to measure, cut, sand, prime and paint,” Brittany Orosco, the leader of Troop 365, said. “The shelves took the girls and the help of their parents every weekend from April until June. Every meeting was a lesson in effort and doing a job well.”

To collect items to stock the shelves, the member of Troop 365 placed boxes in their schools and asked people to donate gently used books, games, puzzles and movies.

On June 16, after the final clear coat on the shelves had dried, the troop moved the shelves from Orosco’s garage to the activity room at the Currituck House. The girls brought in all of the donations they had collected and organized everything to neatly fill the shelves.

“Through the project, the girls learned the value of hard work, networking and community service,” Orosco said.

For their project, the members of Troop 365 earned the Bronze Award, which is the third highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

Broadway or Bust

The halls of Currituck County Middle School are usually dark and quiet during the summer. But, last week, voices rang out, feet danced across the stage and classrooms were aglow as a group of more than 30 girls gathered for Broadway or Bust, a musical theater day camp for Girl Scouts held at the school. The volunteer-led camp was organized by Mary Elysse Santa, a Girl Scout alumna from Moyock who is home for the summer from Western Carolina University.

Mary Elysse leads the "West Side Story" group in song rehearsal.

Each day of camp consisted of two sessions—younger girls in the morning and older girls in the afternoon—culminating with a combined session on Friday prior to a musical revue presented by the campers. The campers practiced vocal warm-up exercises at the beginning of each camp day before breaking up into three groups. The groups were responsible for learning lyrics and choreography, designing the set and fashioning costumes for a musical number. The numbers, which were chosen by Santa prior to the start of camp, each came from a different decade, starting with the 1940s. Highlights of the musical revue included songs performed by the campers from “West Side Story,” “Peter Pan” and “Hairspray.”

“I really wanted to do this camp because it was an opportunity to focus on musical theater, which is something I don’t have a lot of experience with yet,” Jennifer, a 13-year-old Girl Scout from Currituck, said.

Lauren makes a cast of Alexis's nose during a
special effects makeup master class.

In additional to preparing for the musical revue, Santa ensured that the camp was also an opportunity for girls to explore the wide range of roles in theater. They learned technical skills, including lighting and theater photography. They also took part in master classes, including one with a professional makeup artist who led girls in a hands-on workshop in special effects makeup. Santa also arranged a video chat for the campers to meet with Jane Jourdan, founder of Fit for Broadway, a blog dedicated to celebrating Broadway, fitness and health.

“In most communities, music education doesn’t start until students are nine years old, usually in the fourth grade,” Santa said. “It’s been proven that girls can start learning and retaining things much earlier, as young as six or seven, and we’re proving that this week with our youngest campers performing a Peter Pan number. I wanted to run this camp because it is important to provide extracurricular arts programs for students, a subject people often forget about.”

Santa started taking music and theater classes when she was seven years old, and performing has been a big part of her life ever since. In 2014, she used her talents to earn the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts, by completing a project that brought live music performances to a senior living facility in Currituck. Broadway or Bust was another way for Santa to share her love of music and theater with others while providing an extracurricular arts opportunity for local Girl Scouts.

For more information about opportunities with Girl Scouts, visit www.gsccc.org.

Broadway or Bust

When Mary Elysse Santa graduated from Currituck County High School last spring, she knew that she didn’t want the end of high school to also mean the end of her time as a Girl Scout. She had been a Girl Scout for 11 years and had spent countless hours participating in community service projects, testing her limits in the great outdoors and honing her business skills as a cookie entrepreneur. She had even represented Girl Scouts at Legislative Day in Raleigh, traveled to Salt Lake City to attend Girl Scout National Convention and earned the Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a Girl Scout can earn. Being a Girl Scout was a big part of Santa’s identity.

In August, she headed off to Western Carolina University to start a new adventure studying elementary education. A few months into her studies, Santa reflected on her Gold Award project, which centered on bringing live music performances to a senior living facility in Currituck, and thought about it had helped her realize her passion for spreading music to others. Already registered as a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, she connected the dots and figured out how she could continue her Girl Scout experience as a volunteer. She contacted GSCCC and got the okay to begin planning a musical theatre summer camp experience for Girl Scouts back home in Currituck. Right away, Santa started to outline her camp, now named Broadway or Bust, to give Girl Scouts ages seven to 14 a chance to develop a love for theatre and perform in front of a live audience.

“I first got involved with music at a very young age because my grandfather was a music teacher, and he taught me how to sing and play piano,” Santa said. “I started theatre at school when I was seven, and I got a big part in a Christmas pageant. I haven’t stopped loving theatre since! My love for theatre and Girl Scouts motivated me to start planning this camp.”

Santa has big plans for Broadway or Bust this summer. She has recruited a talented group of friends, former theatre classmates and fellow cast members from over the years to help her run the camp. Together, they are going to spend a week teaching girls choreography, blocking, dance, set design and so much more. The camp will culminate with a performance that will be free and open to the public.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the campers learn about theatre and have a great time performing,” Santa said. “Music education is important because it helps created well-rounded individuals. I am excited to be able to share my passions with Girl Scouts this summer.”

Broadway or Bust will take place from June 27 to July 1 at Currituck County Middle School. The camp Monday through Thursday, girls in grades two through five will attend camp from 9 a.m. to noon, and girls in grades six through nine will attend camp from 1 to 4 p.m. On Friday, camp will start at noon for all ages and culminate with a performance at 5 p.m. Camp is open to all girls ages 7 to 14, whether or not they are currently registered members of Girl Scouts. The cost to attend is $50 for the week. Non-members will pay an extra $15 registration fee. For more information and to register, contact maryelysses@gmail.com.

Meet Jasmine, Cookie Entrepreneur Officer

Jasmine receiving the rewards she earned
last cookie season from Tracy Keller,
CEO of GSCCC.

Saturday marked the first day of the Girl Scout Cookie Program for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast. Among the girls out taking cookie orders was Jasmine, a Currituck County sixth grader who sold 1,228 boxes of cookies last year, making her the top seller in Currituck County. This accomplishment earned Jasmine the title of CEO—Cookie Entrepreneur Officer, which she was recognized for last May at a luncheon hosted by the chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, Tracy Keller.

Thanks to their success during the Girl Scout Cookie Program, Jasmine and her fellow members of Troop 52 had a busy year. A top priority for the troop was finding a project to make a difference in the community. The girls used a portion of their proceeds from the cookie program to purchase Girl Scout guide books to donate to the Currituck County Public Library.

“We live about 35 minutes from the Girl Scout store in Chesapeake,” Jasmine said. “This could cause problems for many girls in Currituck to get their own books, so now all Girl Scouts in our area have access to the books they need right at the library.”

For this project, Jasmine earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award, the third highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting and the top award earned by Girl Scout Juniors.

This cookie season, Jasmine has set a goal to sell 1,300 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. She hopes to use some of the money that she earns to put towards her Silver Award project—the next ranking Girl Scout award. For her Silver Award project, Jasmine has chosen to focus on the issue of human trafficking by working with Homestead Ranch, a transitional home for victims of trafficking.

Get all of the details about the Girl Scout Cookie Program in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina here.

Moyock Girl Scout Explores Local Government

Submitted by Charissa Drake, Girl Scout volunteer

Civic engagement has been an important part of Girl Scouts since the organization was founded. Girl Scouts held babies while women voted for the first time after the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, and they operated bicycle courier services, rolled bandages and grew Victory Gardens during the World Wars, just to name a few activities. Today, girls can earn a whole set of badges that teaches them all about government and democracy, including the Inside Government and Behind the Ballot badges.

Senator Erica Smith-Ingram and Genesis

This summer, Girl Scout Cadette Genesis from Moyock had the opportunity learn about government as she shadowed North Carolina Senator Erica Smith-Ingram. Genesis was formally introduced during the Senate session, attended a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting and attended a House of Representatives legislative session. Genesis also visited with Representative Bob Steinburg, who serves six counties in northeastern North Carolina.

During her visit to Raleigh, Genesis also learned about North Carolina Senate Bill 400, sponsored by Senator Smith-Ingram, to encourage regional schools in North Carolina to facilitate access for students to participate in activities provided by the Boy Scouts of America, and its affiliated North Carolina groups and councils, and the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, and its affiliated North Carolina groups and councils.

The impact of the opportunities that Girl Scouts have to be involved in government will last them well beyond their years in the organization. The Girl Scout Research Institute found civic engagement to be one of the positive life outcomes that Girl Scout alumnae display to a greater degree than women who were never Girl Scouts. Even women who were Girl Scouts for two or less years are registered to vote at at higher rate than non-alumnae (82 percent versus 78 percent). Find more information about the impact of Girl Scouts here.

Moyock Girl Scouts Have a Wild Week at Camp

This week, the Moyock Library was crawling with slithery critters, furry pets and feathered friends as nearly 30 girls attended a wildlife and animal-themed camp for hosted by Girl Scouts. The five day camp was organized by Girl Scout volunteers to teach girls about wildlife and introduce them to a variety of unique career paths related to animals.

Girl Scouts Allison, Courtney, Jasmine, Rachel and Bethany
with Samantha Iulo of Mane and Taill

On Tuesday, July 14, Girl Scouts welcomed a special guest speaker to the camp, Samantha Iulo, the director of Mane and Taill, a nonprofit therapeutic horsemanship academy in Poplar Branch. Iulo is a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship Certified Instructor and talked to the girls about how she uses horses to help children and adults with a wide variety of special needs. Iulo talked about the unique personalities of each of her horses and how people with special needs benefit from not only learning how to ride horses, but also seeing how the horses interact with people and with one another.

“I’m not always focused on making someone the best rider, but I am focused on making them the best person that they can be,” Iulo said.

Iulo also talked to the Girl Scouts about ways that they can help Mane and Taill and learn about horses by volunteering at her academy. Following her presentation, Iulo invited Girl Scouts outside to participate in a mock-horseshow using stick horses. The girls walked, trotted and cantered their way across the field.

In addition to hearing from Iulo, Girl Scouts welcomed guests during the week from a variety of local animal groups, including Sacred Friends Wildlife Rehabilitation, Network for Endangered Sea Turtles, Canine Companions and JB’s Rattles Traveling Reptile Show. The girls also made a variety of animal-themed crafts, including ladybug bookmarks and owl door hangers.

Girl Scout Allison, Jesse Richardson, CIT II Becky and
Girl Scout Trinity

Jesse Richardson, a Girl Scout volunteer who organized the camp, chose the theme for the week after attending Girl Scout National Convention last year and being inspired to host a camp for girls that would encourage them to get involved in more outdoor activities. During the week at camp, Richardson wanted girls to learn that animals are more than just pets and be informed about what creatures they may encounter in their own backyards.

Last month, in an effort to provide additional outdoor programming for girls, Girl Scouts of the USA launched a new set of outdoor badges. Richardson is looking forward to continuing to offer outdoor experience for girls by helping the Girl Scouts in her troop earn the new badges in the fall.

Moyock Girl Scouts Donate Care Packages for Military Families

Last month, eight members of Girl Scout Troop 2504 from Moyock made their way to the Norfolk International Airport. The girls were headed to the USO Welcome Center to complete a project that they had been planning for months. The girls worked hard all winter long to sell Girl Scout Cookies and collect donations to create care packages to send to military families stationed overseas, and finally the day had arrived from them to pack and donate the boxes.

For Troop 2504, supporting the troops is a cause that hits close to home. One of the troop members is part of a military family that previously lived in Ethiopia. While there, her family received a care package from a Girl Scout troop that offered them a taste of home and personal letters of gratitude. Her family was so touched by the gesture that they shared the idea with Troop 2504, and the girls decided that they wanted to give a thoughtful gift from home to more families stationed overseas.

The girls in Troop 2504 sold Girl Scout Cookies to earn money to purchase items to send in the care packages. They also asked cookie customers to purchase and donate extra cookies and contacted friends and businesses in the community to donate items for the packages. By the end of cookie season, the girls had 115 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, along with games, foods and other treats for the boxes. They also wrote letters to the families receiving the boxes thanking them for their service and sacrifices.

On May 31 at the USO Welcome Center in Norfolk, the girls filled 35 boxes with the items they had purchased and collected. The boxes were shipped to Special Warfare Unit families whose headquarters are in Stuttgart, Germany, thanks to a generous donation from the Navy Seal Foundation to cover the shipping costs. The girls also left items at the USO Welcome Center for troops and their families to enjoy when they arrive at the airport, and the girls had the opportunity to pass out boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to service members passing through the USO Welcome Center while they were there.

For years, Girl Scouts across the country have used Girl Scout Cookies to show their appreciation for men and women in uniform. For the project that the members of Troop 2504 completed, they will earn the Girl Scout Bronze Award, which is the third highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting and the highest award earned by Girl Scouts in elementary school.

Moyock Girl Scout Donates Cookies to Sheriff’s Department

There’s a lot more to Girl Scout Cookies than what’s in the box. For years, Girl Scouts across the country have used Girl Scout Cookies to show their appreciation for men and women who serve the community. Following this tradition, on Monday, April 13, Girl Scout Junior Genesis from Moyock, paid a visit to Currituck County Sheriff Susan Johnson to donate cookies for the department to enjoy.

Girl Scout Junior Genesis with Currituck County
Sheriff Susan Johnson. Genesis made special
cookie box wraps to decorate the cookies before
donating them to the sheriff's office.

While at the sheriff’s office, Genesis had the opportunity to visit with Sheriff Johnson and share her experiences in Girl Scouts. Genesis sold over 100 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies this year and told Johnson about her plans for her cookie money—she wants to use it to go to Girl Scout camp this summer. Genesis has been a Girl Scout for four years and enjoys getting to make a difference in her community through Girl Scouts.

Sheriff Johnson plans to share the cookies with members of the sheriff’s department, as well as give some of the sweet treats to residents at a nearby assisted living facility.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the world’s largest girl-led business and the nation’s leading financial literacy and entrepreneurial program for girls. Through the program, girls learn skills that will last them a lifetime, such as goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

Encourage Access to Girl Scouts

GSCCC members in North Carolina, please support North Carolina Senate Bill 400 sponsored by NC Senator Erica Smith-Ingram.

S400 - This bill would encourage regional schools in North Carolina to facilitate access for students to participate in activities provided by the Boy Scouts of America, and its affiliated North Carolina groups and councils, and the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, and its affiliated North Carolina groups and councils. Student participation in any activities offered by these organizations shall not interfere with instructional time during the school day. Find details of the bill here.

Allowing Girl Scouts to give information on, and provide activities from, the Girl Scout Leadership Experience will help us reach more girls and serve our mission of helping build girls of courage, confidence and character, to make the world a better place!

Find members of the North Carolina Assembly – Whorepresents me?

Currituck Girl Scouts Make Improvements at Camp Darden

Last summer, Girl Scout Cadette Kilani from Currituck spent a week at Camp Darden, a Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast property near Franklin, Va., riding horses, canoeing, swimming, learning archery and making new friends around the campfire. She spent an adventurous week in the outdoors and had a wonderful experience, but she also noticed that the bunk beds in her cabin could use a fresh coat of paint. Two weeks later, Kilani was back at Camp Darden with her fellow members of Girl Scout Troop 64, and they agreed. After their weekend at camp, the girls took action to contact the property department at Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast and offered to paint the bunks.

Girl Scout Troop 64 at Camp Darden

After much planning, Girl Scout Troop 64 finally set out to see their plan into action last weekend. They packed paintbrushes and tape alongside their sleeping bags and pillows and headed back to Camp Darden. The 11 troop members, along with their two leaders, spent the weekend adding a fresh coat of “Girl Scout green” paint to the bunk beds at Camp Darden.

“They felt that the buildings should be as beautiful as the property itself,” Jesse Richardson, leader of Girl Scout Troop 64, said. “The girls really enjoyed putting part of the Girl Scout Law into action by doing their part to make the world a better place.”

Girl Scout Troop 64 among the freshly painted bunk beds at Camp Darden

While at Camp Darden, the girls also made sure to have some fun. They celebrated the 13th birthday of a troop member, Kenzie Faytik, and were invited by some Girl Scouts in Virginia Beach to join them around the campfire for s’mores and songs.

At all levels of Girl Scouting, girls are encouraged to identify community needs, be resourceful problem solvers and take action to make a difference. The hard work of Girl Scout Troop 64 will be enjoyed by hundreds of girls who choose Camp Darden for their annual camping trips, as well as the girls who attend resident camp there this summer.

For more information about joining Girl Scouts or attending Girl Scout camp, visit www.gsccc.org.

Currituck Girl Scouts Make a Difference through Fall Product Program

Each fall, Girl Scouts can participate in the Girl Scout Fall Product Program, a nut, candy and magazine sale that allows Girl Scout troops to earn money to start off the year and learn important business skills, such as goal setting and money management. For Girl Scout Troops 52 and 491 from Currituck, the fall product program was also an opportunity to give back to the community.

Last month, the Girl Scout troops visited the Lower Currituck Food Pantry, where they donated 284 packages of nuts and candies to help fill the shelves at the pantry. While there, the girls were also given a tour of the facility by Polly Gregory, the director of the pantry. The girls learned that even though they may not see signs of it, homelessness is an issue in their community. Gregory told the girls that in addition to food, people oftentimes come to the pantry seeking toiletry items in order to clean up for job interviews, but the pantry rarely has the items to fill this need. This has inspired the Girl Scout troops and they plan to host a collection drive to supply the food pantry with toiletry items.

Members of Girl Scout Troops 52 and 491 with
Polly Gregory, director of the Lower Currituck Food Pantry

Gold Award Spotlight: Merry Melodies

Girl Scout Ambassador Mary Elysse from Moyock has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Mary Elysse developed a program to bring weekly live music performances to the Currituck House, a senior living facility in Moyock. Mary Elysse used her talents for singing and playing ukulele and guitar to entertain the residents at the Currituck House. She also invited guests, including the female quartet from her church, to perform along with her once in a while. During each performance, Mary Elysse engaged the residents in a variety of songs, ranging from hymns to show tunes.

“I have always loved music and my grandfather was my first music teacher,” Mary Elysse said. “He was a resident of the Currituck House during the last summer of his life and he always said he wished there was live music to enjoy, so I decided to do my Gold Award project in his memory.”

Her favorite part of the project was having the opportunity to get to know some of the residents at the Currituck House. She got to learn about their fascinating lives and saw firsthand how music reaches people in a way that words cannot.

After nearly a year of running the live music program, Mary Elysse shared her project with her fellow members of the chorus at Currituck County High School and the students are going to help continue the project after Mary Elysse graduates.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Mary Elysse to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

My Promise, My Faith Pin

During the week of July 21, Knotts Island United Methodist Church in Currituck County, North Carolina, hosted a special series for girls on the island to earn the Girl Scout My Promise, My Faith pin. This pin was developed by Girl Scouts of the USA to allow girls to further strengthen their connection between their faith and Girl Scouts by carefully examining the Girl Scout Law and directly tying it to tenets of her faith.

Everything that Girl Scouts do is based on the Girl Scout Promise and Law—a guiding message that teaches girls about how to act towards one another, other people and the world. It encourages girls to be honest, friendly, considerate, responsible and respectful and encompasses many other principles common to most faiths. The opportunity for girls to earn the My Promise, My Faith pin is a chance for them to take a spiritual journey through Girl Scouts.

Girls talked about each line of the Girl Scout Law and
how it relates to their own lives. 

Each day during the series, the girls went over different parts of the Girl Scout Law and had discussions about how they are friendly and helpful at home, at school and in the community, talked about people they look up to as role models and how they can be a role model for others and shared ideas about how to be good stewards of the planet and its natural resources. They kept track of their thoughts, discussions and inspirational quotes in a journal that they made during their first meeting.

The girls also worked on fun crafts, such as making angel necklaces using a paperclip, and prepared for their culminating event on Friday evening, when they shared their new and strengthened connections to faith with friends, family and members of the church. The middle-school age Girl Scouts in the group created decorations for the event— flower arrangements made from newspapers and tissue paper scraps, an example of using their resources wisely, a component of the Girl Scout Law.

Girl Scouts Cadence and Addison work on a
flower arrangement made of recycled materials.

For this series, Girl Scouts were welcomed into Knotts Island United Methodist Church by Pastor Diana Johnson, who has been with the church for two years and is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts. Pastor Johnson has been a Girl Scout volunteer for over 18 years and eagerly helped the girls through their My Promise, My Faith journey. She talked to the girls about how she incorporates the values of the Girl Scout Law into her own life, shared the long-standing history of Knotts Island United Methodist Church and helped girls think about what the Girl Scout Law and their faith have in common.

“Youth are a wonderful gift, and we need to help them develop positive attitudes and show them that they are important,” Pastor Johnson said. “By opening up the church for them to participate in Girl Scouts and explore their faith, the community is showing their support for the girls.”

As a way to give back to the community, the girls who participated in the series brought in food donations to help stock the food pantry at the church, which supports 18 families on Knotts Island.

For over 100 years, Girl Scouts has provided numerous opportunities for girls to grow in their respective faiths, as each girl is encouraged to develop her own strong values within the context of family, faith and the Girl Scout Promise and Law.

Currituck Twilight Camp

Evenings during the week of July 14, the Moyock Library was filled with some of North Carolina’s youngest scientists, as a group of 15 Girl Scouts took part in a volunteer-led summer camp. The girls, who will be entering grades 4-8 in the fall, participated in activities all week long that introduced them to the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.

Girls learn how to make a mold of a
shoe print from Detective Stallings.

Throughout the week, the girls worked together to solve a mystery using forensic skills that they learned along the way. On Wednesday evening, Detective Stallings from the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office came to teach the girls about casting footprints and taking fingerprints—two commonly used methods of gathering clues at a crime scene.

During the week, the girls also used chemistry to make bath soaps, explored how animal microchips function and learned how bone measurements can be used to determine a person’s height. The camp finished on Friday with a pizza party and a sleepover.

“I hope they remember that camp is fun, and Girl Scouts is for every age,” Michelle Santa, a Girl Scout volunteer who organized the camp, said.

Santa, who has been a volunteer with Girl Scouts for the past 11 years, decided to organize the camp so that Girl Scouts in Currituck would have a fun and engaging chance to explore STEM activities and careers.

Girl Scouts is committed to empowering girls to pursue any field of interest by offering a wide variety of activities and programs. In recent years focus has been placed on STEM subjects in order to encourage girls to explore and learn about fields where females are underrepresented.

Girl Scouts who attended Twilight Camp in Currituck enjoyed learning
about crime-solving techniques from Detective Stallings from the
Currituck County Sheriff's Office.