Salina Girl Scout Headed to NASA "Girls in Space" Camp

Cat Poland for KSAL News - Tue 09:43 AM 07/13/2010

This Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland team, including Girl Scouts Shelbey Logan from and Allison Stukey from, along with volunteers Fred Gassert and Brindi Stables, is headed to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Two Kansas Girl Scouts, accompanied by two local volunteers, will be headed to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland next week to learn about NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

This Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland team, including Girl Scouts Shelbey Logan from and Allison Stukey from, along with volunteers Fred Gassert and Brindi Stables, is one of only 10 Girl Scout Council teams out of 109 selected to participate. When they return, these Girl Scouts will be responsible for organizing at least five trainings with adults and older Girl Scouts, and to form a Girl Scout Astronomy club with the help of a Girl Scout-NASA core volunteer mentor.

Girl Scout Council teams will spend four days at the GSFC seeking to gain knowledge of NASA missions and how astronomers work to unravel the mysteries of the universe.

Trainings will be led by GSFC staff (Dr. Lou Mayo), Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) staff, and 10 Girl Scout/NASA core volunteer trainers, who will provide hands-on activities. In addition to the astronomy content, there will be training on how to establish and run a Girl Scout astronomy club, use the robotic telescope, connect with and use the NASA education infrastructure, promote careers in space and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, and design a thematic workshop with NASA content. Funding for the "Girls in Space" program was provided by NASA's Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES).

Several factors influenced NASA and GSUSA's decision to choose Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland's team.

In addition to STEM programming, GSKH also partners with children's science museum Exploration Place, and the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, the world's leading space artifact restoration and replication facility. There is also the long-standing relationship with the Kansas Astronomical Observers (KAO). They are often present at Girl Scout camps throughout the year to teach the girls about space, astronomy, and telescopes.

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