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Community Corner

Spring-Ford Girl Scouts meet "Women of Aerospace"

A collaboration with the American Helicopter Museum in West Chester encouraged participants to develop interests in science and engineering.

A new program was introduced this year to local Girl Scouts, and it is unlike anything offered before.  The brainchild of Mike Spletzer of Royersford, the Women in Aerospace and Technology Program (WATP) was developed to encourage an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for girls between the ages of 8 and 17.  Mike, who is also a volunteer at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, developed the program as part of his MBA requirements at St. Joseph’s University.  After securing sponsors such as Boeing, Sikorsky Helicopters, and Bentley Systems along with educational talent from Drexel, West Chester and Arcadia, and with advisory teams from St. Joe’s and Penn State, Mike and the Helicopter Museum were able to offer this amazing experience to the Girl Scouts.

Girl Scout representative Maureen Streeter from GSEP and local Girl Scout volunteer Janet Sakel along with other leaders coordinated the Girl Scout involvement.  The six month program, which began last Fall, was a huge success and has already been renewed for next year.  

Offered on Saturdays throughout the fall, winter and spring, this program gave girls hands on experiences at the Helicopter Museum where they learned about the different types of helicopters, did experiments and had a bit of classroom study.  They also toured Boeing & Sikorsky where the girls saw helicopters in various stages of development.  Molly Kieft, an 11 year old who attends , said that her favorite part of the program was when they visited Drexel University to learn about robotics.  Kelly Trythall, a 4th grader at , said that she liked “everything,” while her classmate Gabrielle Sakel was most impressed with the hands on experiments.  

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This program addresses a huge concern in America by exposing girls to the wonder and challenges of science.  Girls have lagged behind in this area throughout history.  While changes are evident, the playing field is still not level.  Women make up 52% of the working population, but hold less than 10% of the jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  The Girl Scouts have endeavored to help change that for a good part of the organization’s nearly 100 year history.

Girls are now offered a variety of opportunities to have experiences such as this one.  The Girl Scouts of the 21st Century have embraced the fact that while many girls are interested in certain program offerings, they are not always available for weekly Girl Scout meetings.  Competition from sports programs, dance, art and music classes, etc. often make attending weekly meetings impossible. Girls can now take part in programs such as WATP without being part of a troop.  Parents can register their girls as a “Juliette” (named for founder Juliette Lowe) and, as individuals, participate in programs offered by the Girl Scouts.  Visit the Girl Scout website at www.gsep.org for more information.

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The girls worked very hard throughout the program and, along with the memories (and opportunity to register early for next year’s WATP offering) they earned badges and were awarded a helicopter pin and certificate at the closing ceremony on Saturday, May 21.  

For more information about the American Helicopter Museum, visit their website at www.helicoptermuseum.org.

Patch thanks the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania for this press release.

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