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July 1, 2009

Edmond Girl Scouts visit NASA Mission Control

Members of Edmond’s Troop 56 sold 3,800 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, and their reward was a trip to NASA, including a visit to NASA’s Space Camp.

Twelve Edmond Junior Girl Scouts traveled to Houston to visit NASA in May, where they took a tram tour of the facility the day before space shuttle Atlantis launched.

“I had taken my older troop to NASA and knew how much fun it was,” said Troop 56 Leader Kendell Belcher. She said she shared with them how fun it was, but also gave them choices of other camps.

“They decided to go to NASA,” Belcher said. For all 12 girls to go to NASA, attend the space camp, get a T-shirt and a patch, she estimated the cost to be around $3,600 total.

“Our volunteer cookie mom, Vicki Ray, has been in charge of scheduling booths for cookie sales for three or four years. She set up the booths and the girls all worked really hard to reach their goal.”

The troop also earned the highest award at this level last year, the Bronze award. The Junior Girl Scouts donated money they earned from their cookie sales and learned about community service in the process.

“In order to receive the award we primed, painted and repaired basketball goals and replaced nets for Will Rogers Elementary School playground, and we arranged to have lines painted on the asphalt for basketball boundaries,” Belcher said.

The troop also donated money to the Will Rogers PTO to buy basketball, soccer and playground balls for each class in the school.

Hanna Belcher, who will be entering sixth grade, said she wanted to sell Girl Scout cookies so she could go on a trip. “I sold more than 300 boxes of cookies,” Hanna said, “and I learned all the different parts of the space ship.”

She said she is ready to sell more cookies this year.

While at NASA the girls were able go to into Mission Control. “We were told this was the first time in history that they have allowed anyone in Mission Control the day before a launch,” Kendell Belcher said. “Mission Control is the main room that you see in “Apollo 13,” if you have seen the movie.”

The girls were able to see firsthand several key figures working at all the stations plus live feed on three different huge screens: one of the astronauts, one of the spaceship and another of men preparing for the launch.

“It was very exciting,” Belcher said. “The tour guide was very diligent in letting the girls know how important they were to be the only ones to ever witness that. The girls loved it. He said he knew it had never happened before and didn’t know why they were the lucky ones but to enjoy the moment and tell their kids and grandkids.”

The camp had four stations of hands-on education regarding aeronautics and laws of gravity. The girls also got to sleep overnight in the facility. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are the only groups allowed to stay overnight, Belcher said. The girls purchased the Space Camp T-shirt and patch that are for campers only and cannot be purchased by the general public.

In addition to Hanna Belcher, Girl Scouts attending included MaKenzee Walker, Rocio Martinez, Jordan Hunt, Wynter Standridge, Monica Ray, Hannah Fuller, Maddy Joshi, Ellie Drumm, Ashley Mingus and Elle Luehring.

“Oklahoma has provided the NASA program with more astronauts than any other state, and a high majority of those are Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts,” Belcher said.



NASA recognizes Boy Scouts earning the prestigious Eagle Rank and Girl Scouts earning the prestigious Gold Award. To receive a certificate of recognition from NASA commemorating these distinguished achievements, troop leaders may inquire by e-mail to public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov.

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