By Adam Kramer
The four-member Girl Scout Troop 4216 became the first troop in the country to earn two chemical merit badges developed in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of the USA by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Alexandria DiAmore, Stephanie Mascone, Kaitlin Pyne and Christina Tesora, who live in Bayside, Bellerose and Queens Village, started to work on the badges in February and completed all of the requirements just as they appeared in the new Junior Badge Book when it was published in April.
“It is nice that the girls were the first to win the award and were lucky to do so,” said Doreen DiAmore, Alexandria’s mother and troop leader. “But more important was the girls were able to work as a team.”
The 11- and 12-year-old girls were awarded their “Making it Matter” and “Oil Up” badges at a June ceremony held at the Chemical Engineers’ headquarters in Manhattan.
The Girl Scouts of the USA developed the new badges with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and with the help of Cindy Mascone, Stephanie’s mother, a chemical engineer and editor of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ magazine.
DiAmore said when the scouts began to work on their badges only one of them was interested in science. But after some of the hands-on activities such as finding the layman’s name for and use of sodium and hydrogen chloride the girls learned how science affects their lives on a daily basis.
“As the girls became more comfortable with all of the badges’ requirements,” she said, “they learned that science is part of everyday life and you don’t need to cringe when required to study the subject.”
The “Making it Matter” badge required the girls to make the polymer “gak.” They had to examine how it changed as it reacted to being mixed with various ingredients. A polymer is a chemical compound formed by combining two or more molecules to form a larger molecules.
To earn the “Oil Up” badge the scouts had to learn how petroleum influences everyday life. It included finding out how plants and animals can eventually become oil after eons, making an oil spill and cleaning it up and learning how rescue workers and scientists save animals after an oil spill.
“I hope that earning your badges has given you an idea of the fun that chemical engineers can have,” said Dr. John Sofranko, the institute’s executive director. “If you should become a chemical engineer, you’ll be able to have a very positive impact on the lives of people everywhere.”
The sixth-graders were formed into Girl Scout Troop 4216 of Bellerose in September and will move from junior scouts to cadet scouts next year.
DiAmore said the girls, who meet at a Bellerose Lutheran church, came together from different troops for different reasons. Some of the girls could not make the meeting times of the other troops and her daughter was a year younger than the girls in her old troop.
“Most important to this troop is they did not grow up with each other,” DiAmore said. “They all came from different backgrounds and learned to work as a team.”
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
