Worcester Girl Scouts Turn Waste Into Engineering Experience

Worcester MA

13 December, 2021

7:39 AM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — A group of Worcester elementary school Girl Scouts recently earned recognition for their work turning recyclables into race cars. The second and third-graders were awarded their mechanical engineering badges during an event at Rice Square Elementary on Wednesday. Here's more from a Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts press release: Every Wednesday afternoon for seven weeks, twenty-eight second and third grade girls have come together to work in teams over everyday items that might have been plucked from the recycling bin. They built their very own race cars and now have earned their Mechanical Engineering: Race Car badges. The Rice Square Elementary School girls are part of the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts Community Based Program, It's A Girls World, developed to deliver the Girl Scouts' mission to girls in under-resourced areas. This year's goal is to serve 150 girls in the city of Worcester where participating in the traditional Girl Scout troop model has barriers including transportation issues. The program is completely free to the girls who participate and includes Girl Scout membership, snacks, program supplies, uniforms and badges. The program is funded through generous grants from The Women's Foundation of Boston and DCU for Kids. Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts has also been working with Rice Square Elementary School kindergarten and first grade Daisy Girl Scouts pursuing their Mechanical Engineering: Board Games badge. "The Rice Square School community is excited and grateful for our 4th successful and consecutive year of partnership with the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts. We are also thankful for the generous financial support from The Women's Foundation of Boston and for DCU Kids grants that make this amazing Girl Scouts' Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Program possible for our kindergarten, first, second and third grade female students at no cost to them or their families" said Lynnette Diaz, Assistant Vice Principal of Rice Square Elementary School. Ms. Diaz went on to add, "Throughout the past 4 years of partnership with the Girl Scouts, we have noticed how their different programs have helped participating students to build confidence, develop a stronger sense of self, build leadership and team building skills, recognize and establish healthy relationships, obtain appropriate tools to resolve conflicts, use critical thinking skills, anti-bullying strategies, etc. We are all so excited and thankful for this collaboration that is creating and empowering our future leaders!"