Girl Scouts Add STEAM to Garden Project
Girl Scout Troop 3368 continued work on a Barstow pollinator garden last week, but instead of digging in the dirt, scouts used tools and technology at IDEA Space to grow their skills.
The troop's pollinator garden is a two-year Bronze Award project designed to address the problem of disappearing pollinators in the ecosystem. Plants need pollinators to reproduce, while pollinators mutually benefit by obtaining food like nectar or pollen.
The fifth graders researched native plants, designed the garden space, and even grew some of the plantings from seedlings. They planted the garden last spring, opting for perennial plants so the garden near the Hall of Champions entrance will come back each year.
The next step in their project was to produce a plaque for the garden. At IDEA Space, they worked with Director Aaron Dalton to design and create a sign that designates the area as a native plant pollinator garden. They used woodworking skills to build the structure, and learned how the Trotec laser cutter and engraver in the Fabrication Lab works — taking an idea from computer screen to finished product. The girls also used the Makerspace to paint colorful garden stones.
This weekend, they will plant the garden's final seeds. The space has already bloomed with Missouri Evening Primrose and Sweet Black-Eyed Susans, but Troop Leader Felicia Leung says they expect most plants to flower next year after cold stratification in the winter. The last step in this project is to write and submit a final report for the Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn.
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The fifth graders researched native plants, designed the garden space, and even grew some of the plantings from seedlings. They planted the garden last spring, opting for perennial plants so the garden near the Hall of Champions entrance will come back each year.
The next step in their project was to produce a plaque for the garden. At IDEA Space, they worked with Director Aaron Dalton to design and create a sign that designates the area as a native plant pollinator garden. They used woodworking skills to build the structure, and learned how the Trotec laser cutter and engraver in the Fabrication Lab works — taking an idea from computer screen to finished product. The girls also used the Makerspace to paint colorful garden stones.
This weekend, they will plant the garden's final seeds. The space has already bloomed with Missouri Evening Primrose and Sweet Black-Eyed Susans, but Troop Leader Felicia Leung says they expect most plants to flower next year after cold stratification in the winter. The last step in this project is to write and submit a final report for the Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn.
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Girls Scout Troop 3368 used IDEA Space tools & technology like the Trotec laser engraver to advance their Bronze Award project.
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They learned how to take an idea from computer design to finished project using STEAM skills.
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They also used the Makerspace to paint stones for the pollinator garden.
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Troop 3368 started work on the project last year.
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Black-Eyed Susans are already in bloom, with more plants expected to flower, providing food for pollinators, after cold stratification this winter
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