Ninety-Nines and Girl Scouts work together

to earn Aerospace Badge

Kathy and her students test meat tray gliders

The Girl Scout troop at Kathy Hancock's school, Governor Bent Elementary were excited to be invited to a day of aviation fun which resulted in their earning a badge.  The ABQ99s planned a special day for them that would meet the requirements in the Girl Scout manual for an Aerospace Badge. Helping Kathy that day were Anna Taylor, Tina Jenkin, Joanie Granger and Barbara Fricke.

The girls toured the airport, walked through a preflight check on a Cessna, heard stories and asked questions about flying in days gone by. They made paper, balsa wood and meat tray airplanes, tested them, and logged their flights in their own logbooks. During lunch they sampled space drinks and dehydrated space ice cream.

We watched a shuttle launch on video and browsed internet sites about women in aviation. The girls, leaders, and a couple of little brothers all participated as we enjoyed the activities.

Our own Amelia Earhart look-alike, Barbara, dressed up and told Amelia's story. The girls were fascinated and asked questions about her life. After the day at the airport, we met at the Natural History Museum for the Planetarium show. Our goal was to not only help the girls earn their badge, but to instill an interest in aviation in the next generation. To see if we succeeded, we had only to look at their happy faces.

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