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Science convention inspires local Girl Scouts The daylong science convention at Washington Crown Center mall attracted 400 Girl Scouts

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The hallways inside Washington Crown Center were filled with a little bit of serious and a whole lot of silly Saturday as 400 area Girls Scouts spent the day learning about science.

More than 30 Girl Scout troops from across Washington County interacted with area businesses, organizations and colleges and participated in hands-on experiments to pique their interest in science.

Kristin Svidro, a Girl Scouts volunteer from South Strabane who helped organize a dozen similar conventions at the mall over the past two decades, said this year’s theme of “science, serious and silly” will hopefully inspire young girls to enroll in STEM programs when they reach high school.

“It’s great to see them interested in science when they’re younger so they’re not scared of it when they enter high school,” Svidro said.

Aniah Maltony, 8, Miabella Couture, 8, and Paige Randolph, 9, all members of the Brownie troop at JFK Catholic School in Washington, watched in wonder as Mike Polen of Carnegie Mellon University’s Future Leaders of Science program rapidly blew bubbles using a specialized contraption.

“They’re cool,” Paige said of the experiments.

Paige’s grandmother, Janice Stickle, escorted the girls around the bustling mall with 45 stations showcasing various activities that gave the Girl Scouts an opportunity to be social while learning.

“Most (kids) would rather be playing on their iPads and electronics. They spend too much time on those things,” Stickle said. “It’s nice to get them out and exposed to these things.”

On the other side of the mall, Oglebay Park zookeepers showed off a tarantula while a member of the Pittsburgh Passion women’s football team explained how the equipment the players wear helps them to avoid serious injuries.

In addition to CMU, other local schools performing experiments included the Community College of Allegheny County with a walking miniature robot and California University of Pennsylvania.

“Having the colleges here doing these experiments grabs the kids’ attention,” Svidro said. “How cool is this?”

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