On Thursday, the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio broke ground on a new center in Peninsula, Ohio that will teach Girl Scouts and local school children skills in science, technology, engineering and math.
“We are going to open it up to area youth, both boys and girls, and they're going to be able to come here and be able to do similar kind of programming to what our Girl Scouts are doing in cooperation with their school so they can carry that lesson on longer,” said CEO Jane Christyson.
The STEM Center of Excellence will be located at GSNEO’s Camp Ledgewood, which is used by the Girl Scouts every day during the summer and on weekends during the school year. It will be available to schools during the week while school is in session.
The idea for the STEM center started when the GSNEO board thought about what they could do to serve the community, Christyson said.
“That’s when we really started digging into STEM badges, understanding that women are very underrepresented in STEM,” she said. “We started talking about how we need to fill the talent pipeline with our Girl Scouts.”
Natalie Laymon, who has been a Girl Scout for 10 years, said she shadowed the architect on the project and is excited for the opportunities she saw when looking at the building plans.
“It’s a great space to do badge work because sometimes it’s hard to find the resources you need for certain badges,” she said.
The center will have rooms dedicated to different areas of STEM including an environmental lab, technology space, hands-on workshop and multi-purpose room. Its campus will also house multiple outdoor activities such as a rain garden and beekeeping area.
“I’m really excited for all the natural stuff they’re going to have,” said Emma Foadori, whose been a scout for seven years. “I looked at the plans a little bit, and I think they’re going to have a wetland.”
The groundbreaking took place after the GSNEO reached 82% of its $7 million fundraising goal.
The event was attended by State Senator Kristina Roegner, State Representative Bill Roemer and Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, who said she helped the GSNEO secure $850,000 in federal funding for the project.
“With this new facility we are declaring as a community that we care about the future of our children and their livelihoods,” Sykes said.
The STEM Center for Excellence is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024.
