STEM Programs

In today’s world, STEM skills are critical.

From coding to protecting our planet, today’s young leaders can use STEM skills to make the world a better place. Whether you want to learn about space and gaze at the stars, study the world of insects, or program robots, our community partners offer a variety of fun activities for all grade levels.

Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center Programs toggle arrow

Location: Westgate Academy, 13598 E West Gate Dr, Odon, IN 47562
To Schedule: Contact Tina Closser, florentina.m.closser.civ@us.navy.mil
Brandy Frady, brandy.m.frady2.ctr@us.navy.mil
Kristi Seidenfaden, kristi.c.seidenfaden.ctr@us.navy.mil
Cost: Free

Programs are offered in person or virtually.

Automotive Design for Daisies

Grades: K-1
Daisies will design and build a car using Legos and learn how to program it!
Badge: Daisy Automotive Design

Robotics for Brownies
Grades: 2-3
To earn a badge, Brownies will learn how to use various robots, including Cubelets, Dash, Ozobots, Indi Spheros, and Root Robots.
Badges: Brownie Designing and/or Programming Robots

Programming Robots for Juniors
Grades: 4-5
Girls will learn how to design and program robots with the LEGO EV3, Spike, and Root Robot!
Badges: Junior Designing and/or Programming Robots

Programming Robots for Seniors
Grades: 9-10
Girls will learn how to design and program robots with the LEGO EV3, Spike, and Root Robot!
Badges: Senior Designing and/or Programming Robots

You can find more resources and opportunities from NSWC Crane here.

Evansville Museum of Arts, History, & Science toggle arrow

Evansville Museum Programs

Address: 411 E Riverside Dr, Evansville, IN 47713
To schedule: Contact education@emuseum.org
Cost: Varies by program and number of participants

Girl Scout troops that book in advance receive discounted Museum admission and discounted tickets to theater shows. To book a visit, please contact education@emuseum.org.

Free Fridays
The first Friday of every month is Free Friday at the Evansville Museum! Visit from 11 AM to 5 PM for free admission to all museum exhibitions. Tickets to shows in the Koch Immersive Theater & Planetarium are still available for purchase. To learn more, please visit www.emuseum.org/.

Fossil Outreach Kits
Grades: 1-3 (Daisies & Brownies)
Troop leaders can borrow the Museum’s CenterPoint Energy Fossil Kits for FREE. These kits come complete with everything you need for an hour-long hands-on program about fossils – you open the box, press play on the video, supervise the session, and that’s it! All materials include both English and Spanish versions, which makes it a great option for multilingual troops.

Space Science for Girl Scouts
Grades: K-3 (Daisies & Brownies)
Schedule a showing of the Museum’s One World, One Sky show and then explore the museum as a troop.
Badge: Daisy Space Science Explorer, Brownie Space Science Adventurer

Grades: 4-5 (Juniors)
Schedule a showing of the Museum’s Outer Space Live! Planetarium Show and then explore the museum as a troop.
Badge: Junior Space Science Investigator

Grades: 6-8 (Cadettes)
Schedule a showing of the Museum’s Wonders of the Universe and Losing the Dark shows, and then explore the museum as a troop.
Badge: Steps 2, 4 & 5 of Cadette Space Science Researcher

Grades: 9-10 (Seniors)
Schedule a showing of the Museum’s Mayan Archeoastronomy & Constellations and Losing the Dark shows, and then explore the museum as a troop.
Badge: Steps 1, 2, 4 & 5 of Senior Sky

Grades: 11-12 (Ambassadors)
Schedule a showing of the Museum’s Touch the Stars show and then explore the museum as a troop.
Badge: Ambassador Space Science Master

Detective Program for Girl Scouts
Grades: 4-5 (Juniors)
Juniors can solve the museum's "Mystery and the Museum" hour-long program.
Badge: Step 5 of Junior Detective
Note: This program has a $75 minimum fee. The actual price depends on the number of scouts.

Girls Who Code toggle arrow

Girl Who Code and GSSI have partnered up to provide free resources & funds through the Girls Who Code Club Program! This free program is designed by expert educators as an easy-to-use "program in a box" open to all skill levels and genders.

You do NOT need any prior coding experience to facilitate a GWC Club because of their comprehensive 3-5th-grade book club model for beginners and 6-12th-grade self-guided coding tutorials for all skill levels.

When you sign up to start a GWC Club, you'll access free and flexible 3-12th-grade computer science and community-building activities, training and virtual support, student recruitment tips, virtual events with top company partners, lifelong college & career support for your Club members, and so much more. Resources can be accessed year-round to match your scheduling needs!

Plus, once you have 3 or more Club members, you'll also unlock GWC swag delivered to your location and a $300 Amazon Wish List for supplies and snacks!

Sign up here to access everything for free! Make sure to list Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana as your Girls Who Code Community Partner on the application for extra benefits and swag! Learn more by watching the informational webinar here.

Note, all resources are administered through Girls Who Code and not GSSI. If you have questions, please contact Tyeesha Jones at tjones@girlscouts-gssi.org.

Mandy Scurry, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador toggle arrow

Space Science Badge Workshops

Hosted by Mandy Scurry, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and GSSI volunteer

Location: Will travel to troop location
To schedule: Contact Mandy Scurry, amanjohn@hotmail.com, (517) 256-2734 (text or call)
Cost: Varies by level, only for supplies
Grades: K-12

Earn the Girl Scout Space Science Badge and/or the STEM Career Exploration Badge, or earn the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Badge and/or Journey with the help of NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador and GSSI volunteer Mandy Scurry. Depending on the age level, learn about stars, planets and the moon in fun, interactive ways. Program does not include hands-on telescope viewing.
Bades/Journeys: Space Science Badge all levels; STEM Career Exploration Badge all levels; Think Like a Citizen Scientist Badge and/or Journey all levels

Learn more about Mandy Scurry, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador.

GSSI Astronomy Club

Are you a Girl Scout interested in learning more about stars, constellations, planets, and galaxies? Join the GSSI Astronomy Club! The club is open to all Girl Scouts in in grades 6-12. For more information, contact Mandy Scurry.

McMahon Exterminating toggle arrow

Address: Will travel to troop meetings
Contact: Brian Raines at (812) 475-1100 or mcmahon@mcmahoncan.com
Cost: Free
Grades: K-12

Entomology with McMahon Exterminating

Learn about all things BUGS with McMahon's experienced, in-house Entomologist! To schedule, contact Brian Raines.

Society of Women Engineers at USI toggle arrow

Woodworking Badge Workshop coming soon..!

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is the world's largest advocate for Women in Engineering with student sections on college campuses with engineering programs. It is a not-for-profit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed and advance in the field of engineering. The mission of SWE is to encourage women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, to expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and to demonstrate the value of diversity.

The University of Southern Indiana has a student section of SWE on campus that GSSI is working with for badge workshops.

Toyota Indiana toggle arrow

Address: Toyota Indiana Experience Center, 4000 Tulip Tree Dr, Princeton, IN 47670
Who: Ages 8+, children must be accompanied by an adult. Troops should maintain proper adult-to-girl ratios.
When: Tours are offered at 9:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 1:30 PM CT on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays throughout the year. Reservations are required.
To Schedule: For a tour, contact Carrie Favreau at carrie.favreau@toyota.com or call 812-387-2311
Cost: Free

Join Toyota for a free, tram-driven tour through the birthplace of the Toyota Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, and all-hybrid Sienna to see how people and machines work together to build ever-better vehicles.

Note: tours have a maximum participant capacity of 32 people per time slot.

LEARN MORE

Community Partner Suggestions

Help Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana find our next Program Community Partner by submitting this suggestion form!

Our community partners for programming are organizations in the community that offer programs, activities, resources, and events for local Girl Scouts. These things can be virtual or in-person and can be available in any of our 11 counties!