Girl Scouts and mentors on the stairs at Science House. Image Credit: James Jorasch
In preparation for pitching their business ideas to a panel later in the week, fifty Girl Scouts recently visited Science House to be mentored. We brainstormed on the walls of the Imagination Room and listened as pairs of teams told us about their business ideas developed as part of their program with the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College.
It turns out that when Girl Scouts thank you for mentoring them--they do it by sending a huge box of Girl Scout cookies! Not only are the cookies delicious (a little too delicious), but they have a list of five skills developed through selling cookies that Girl Scouts use throughout their lives. Since we can all benefit from a reminder of the importance of these values, here they are:
Goal Setting
Decision Making
Money Management
People Skills
Business Ethics
While the Girl Scouts visited, they recorded videos for the Tomorrow Lab. Science House has been collaborating on the development of Tomorrow Lab for a while now. Strategic developer Jennifer Lopez, who suggested that the Girl Scouts visit Science House, is an influencer on the Tomorrow Lab project and recorded this video. Tomorrow Lab was created by the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Their videos focused on the importance of science, education and entrepreneurship. Just like the five business values learned by the sale of Girl Scout cookies are helpful to all of us, so are these videos, which remind us that every one of our lives are impacted every day by science whether we know it or not. Some of these girls have had family members impacted by diseases that needed science for a cure. Others wisely see the connection between entrepreneurship and science, between experimenting and not being afraid to fail.
Open up a box of Thin Mints and watch a few. Clicking on a name will take you directly to the video recorded by each girl. Feel free to make your own or support their dedications. You’ll be amazed, as you explore the Tomorrow Lab project, at how much science the Weizmann Institute accomplishes for the benefit of humanity.