On Saturday, we took the Girl Scout troop to an overnight at Space Center Houston (on their cookie dime). They got to do experiments with electricity, build their own wind turbines and use them to power electric cars and build little flash lights. They slept on sleeping bags in the Space Center among the exhibits of rockets and stars. We got to tour the Johnson Space Center campus and Space Center Houston as well. They really enjoyed it.
I think it is so important for girls to get experience in hands-on science activities where they get to try things, get it wrong, try other things, get frustrated, try other things, etc. The wind turbine activity was set up especially well as this sort of experience. The staff did not mention it, but I made sure to tell the girls about the Mercury 13 women who trained when the Apollo 11 astronauts were training, did better than the men, but were not allowed into space by Johnson. I also told them the fact that all female astronauts so far have been Girl Scouts. I hope that the experience sparks a vocation for science in some of these girls. .. one possible way they can use their minds to take humanity forward.
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