Sunset at Scusset Beach

Hey everyone!

Welcome new readers! I’m so excited to share my Girl Scout travels with you.

After our big day in Boston, we took a low key day to hang out on Mass Maritime’s campus. Some Cadets still on campus for the summer came to teach the girls about ROVs, Remote Operated Vehicles. They’re the things that helped explore the Titanic ruins, and much of the ocean floor research being done now is done using ROVs. The girls actually got to make ROVs, using plastic hangers, small motors, wires, and lots of electrical tape. I was very impressed with how well the girls did with the project, and their knowledge of electrical systems. Some of them even got the motors running before we finished explaining the steps! I think we have some future engineers on our hands.

I don’t think I’ve explained yet what exactly the theme of this trip is. The girls will be earning their oceanography interest project (unique to Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass) and we are trying to focus a lot of the learning around the STEM themes, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. If you want to know more about Girl Scouts and STEM, let me know in comments, I’d love to talk with you about it.

The other stations that day were also very exciting, but to be honest here (honesty on the internet, what?) I took my break during this time. It’s hard to balance the fun I want to have with the girls with self-care, and for every patrol meeting we have with the girls, we have a pre-meeting and a post-meeting, as well as a debrief of the day and a review of the next. We try to take time for ourselves, and there were plenty of extra hands this day to watch the girls, so I missed the dry-suits (“Gumby” suits), the bridge simulator, and a GPS scavenger hunt activity.

Gumby Suit Fun!

That evening, we left for the beach! We bussed to Scusset beach (try saying that 5 times fast) and got into our swimsuits. There was a catered dinner and plenty of sand, water, and creatures to keep us all busy. Even though the water was freezing, the girls ran right in. They actually found some cool sea creatures, like sand dollars and hermit crabs. We all posed for photos, and some of the committee members joined us. Speaking of photos, the sunset was beautiful and Audrey and Jamie, two of my fellow volunteers and both great photographers, got really excited about it.

Scusset Beach at Sunset

Also at Scusset Beach, we had a Juliette Low candle ceremony. We were all given small candles, which we lit from a larger one whose light had been passed all the way from a candle lit by Juliette Low at the first Girl Scout headquarters in Savannah, Georgia. It was a very inspiring ceremony, and another of the Girl Scout traditions that I love so much, and makes this such a special organization.

Juliette Low Candle Ceremony

So it was another great day, and the girls continue to impress and surprise me every day. We’ve had such little homesickness and behavioral problems that the pessimistic side of my brain is a little afraid, but the majority of me is just glad that these girls are truly embracing the “be a sister to every Girl Scout” line of the Girl Scout Law.

So with that, until next time,

~Ana