Move over Hardy Boys and watch out Nancy Drew, the Girl Scouts are coming through. Service unit 741 of the Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland (GSMH) is meeting at the fairgrounds to learn about detective work.
Mysteries After Dark is the theme as 86 Scouts convene at their annual Girl Scout Twilight Camp Community Event, said Kimberly Bruce, camp coordinator. This year's focus is on earning the secret agent and investigation badges.
"We are trying to bring in guests from around the area. The Highway Patrol is here and Jefferson City Police Department is coming tomorrow to do some work with them," Bruce said. "Today, girls can be anything they want to be, so we look specifically for women in the field that show them leadership skills, and of course we have had some dads come in and talk ... we like to look for those leadership roles that show the girls that they can do any career."
At the camp, scouts were divided into different groups from ages 6 to 14. The younger Scouts learned how to use their senses in detective work, and also how to overcome sensory loss such as blindness or deafness. This included lessons on how to speak in sign and how to read Braille.
Meanwhile, older Scouts were learning to create plaster casts of footprints, blood splatter analysis and dusting for fingerprints. On the last night of the camp, older scouts will analyze mock crime scenes and learn about check forgery from a Central Bank employee.
"I am here volunteering for the Girl Scouts and I am going to do little bit of fingerprinting," said Kimberly Hardin of the Missouri Highway Patrol. ""It is not like what you see on TV. So it is kind of cool to see how many people think it is just like "CSI,' and they are very disappointed to find out that it is not. But they still have fun. I think it is a fun, dirty experience. We will have black powder everywhere."
Hardin brought plastic bags and soda cans with her for the scouts to dust. They used a black bichromatic powder and magnetic tape to lift the latent prints. Hardin has done this for other Girl Scout events and for some of the local schools.
"It's fun," said Kendall Gerling, a Girl Scout in the fourth grade. "You get to figure out stuff. And you get to see clues, like what people did or like what happened to the bird."
Gerling explained that one of the activities was to find out who killed the canary. The cat and the dog were likely suspects. She said was leaning toward the cat, but declined further comment on the ongoing investigation.
"I think it is great to expose them to different things," said Kendelle Seidner, a Girl Scout leader, volunteer and mother of scout Bella. "I think the girls enjoy it too, they are having a good time. They (Scout leaders and camp coordinators) come up with a lot of good activities and games."
For more information on the Scouts call 877-312-4764 or visit girlscoutsmoheartland.org.