CLARION, Pa., (EYT) – Girl Scouts from the area took a hypothetical trip around the world during Girl Scout Thinking Day held at Clarion University on Sunday, February 23.
(Jill McDermott and Ron Wilshire collaborated on this article.)
One hundred eighty-two girls from troops throughout Clarion County, as well as St. Marys, Bradford, and Tionesta, enthusiastically participated.
Clarion University International students also took part in the day’s events.
Clarion University International Students included Elli Joannidon (Cyprus), Justin Ta (Vietnam), Alexis Roche (France), and Yessenia Gonzalez (Chile).
Girls learned history, as well as current culture, and each troop represented at least one country.
Some of the highlights were pyramid building out of LEGOs, Oriental parade dragon demonstrations, Fiji dancing demonstrations, photo booths, and games from around the world.
All of these demonstrations were researched, created, and performed by Girl Scouts.
The event was also an effort to demonstrate the skills of local members in order to bring more council activities closer to home.
World Thinking Day originated in 1926 when delegates from around the world met in New York. While, traditionally, Thinking Day is February 22, the Sunday date was easier to schedule locally.
Activities are promoted by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, or WAGGGS, along with Girl Scouts of the U.S. A. Events like the one in Clarion took place worldwide.
The room in CUP’s Gemmell Student Center transformed into miniature versions of countries from across the globe. Each troop table featured information from the nation they had chosen.
Tammy LaCross, the event coordinator for the Clarion Service Unit of the Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania, told exploreJeffersonPA.com, “’Thinking Day’ is celebrated every year. It’s a day for our girls to think about and remember the different cultures and the different people around the world.”
“Each troop picks a country, they research it, and they learn about its culture. They learn about the people and what they wear and what they eat. They also learn about what the Girl Scouts are like there.”
The girls then share what they’ve learned with other troops by dressing in clothing from that nation, sharing food, and creating displays.
Participants include Daisy Scouts, who are in kindergarten, and range up to Ambassador Scouts, who are seniors in high school.
This year’s theme was “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
International students from Clarion University shared their knowledge of their native countries with the scouts.
CUP student Kareem Felfel, of Egypt, visited that country’s table to share pictures from his phone from Cairo. Many of the scouts thought it looked very much like an American city.
“It’s not all sand!” Autumn Osten, of Tionesta, said.
Autumn was among the scouts peppering Felfel with questions.
“I am amazed by that. I love being here today and learning about different cultures.” added Autumn.
She said much of the research she did when she learned about France came from the internet. She especially liked finding out more about that nation’s animals.
Jennifer Vinson, the Girl Scout’s Service Unit Manager, was pleased with the turnout for Thinking Day.
“We think about our fellow scouts. Girl Scouts are what we call them here, in the rest of the world they’re Girl Guides,” she said.
Vinson said that she likes seeing how the scouts choose to share what they’ve learned about the nation they researched.
“What you tend to see represented is what stands out the girls,” she said. “It may not be the thing we think about most from that nation. That’s really fun to see what they focus on.”
At the end of the day, the scouts wore bright smiles. They chatted happily with each other about their favorite countries and what they had learned.
“These girls really brought a lot of knowledge here today,” said LaCross. “Everybody has been so excited about what they’ve learned. We’re hoping to make it bigger and better next year.”
Redbank Girl Scouts: (Troop 20004) Danica Lander, Samantha Nulph, and Jasmine Madison; (Troop 28806) Cassandra Evans and Anna Goodman.
Clarion Area Girl Scouts included the following: Front row (left to right): Ta’Kiley Robinson, Paisley Snyder, Gabrielle Hummel, Kamryn Onuffer, Olivia McCormick, Emmaleigh McDonnell, Makenzie Reed Middle Row: Madison Allhiser, Carmyn Burleson, Tantruh Hilyer, Jesi Finland, Samantha Lewis, Tegan Esiso, Lily Snyder Back row: Katie Taggart, Alexis McCormick, Elizabeth Estadt, Leanne Wentling, Savannah Taggart, Addison Mcguirk. Mattilynn Wayland, Jessica Yonker.
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