A record number Girl Scouts will learn about the wonders of the natural world at this year’s Girl Scout Science Sleuth Day at Mary Baldwin University on February 9 in Hunt Dining Hall. About 40 other Mary Baldwin students, including student members of the American Chemical Society (ACS), are helping lead the science activities.
The group of 85 Girl Scouts — Juniors and Cadettes — consists of fourth through eighth graders. They will perform 18 hands-on science activities and end with a student-led tour of Pearce Science Center.
ACS President Selma Elsarrag ’13 is in charge of this event. “This event really helps them understand that science is all around them and not just happening for an hour a day in the classroom,” she said.
Mary Baldwin students created experiments for the Scouts, including fingerprint analysis, magnet motor making, and DNA necklace creating.
“I’ve participated in this event for the past two years and I know that Scouts really enjoy themselves and seem to connect what they learn in their classrooms with real-world science, which is one of the best benefits of the day,” Elsarrag said.
They have the opportunity to earn three badges at the Science Sleuth Day – Making it Matter, Science in Everyday Life, and Science Sleuth.
This is the third annual Science Sleuth event sponsored at Mary Baldwin. Associate Professor of chemistry, Maria Craig established the event at Mary Baldwin in 2011.