By Grace N.
Girl Reporter

Did you know that Girl Scouts from San Gorgonio Council (GSSGC) went to Special Agent, a special STEM event that focused on forensic science, in Redlands? On Friday, September 16 Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts were able to earn badges; Juniors earned a Detective Badge and Cadettes earned a Special Agent Badge.

Walking into the program center at GSSGC’s central offices, the Girl Scouts immediately saw the infamous, bright yellow caution tape. Behind the yellow tape were opened boxes of Lemonade and Trios Girl Scout cookies. Cookies and crumbs had been suspiciously left there. Also left at the crime scene were a receipt and a Girl Scout goal sheet for selling cookies.

Who broke into the cookies? Let’s use our detective skills and find out!

The Juniors and Cadettes were not left alone to solve the crime. They got some help from professionals. Police officers from the Montclair Police Department and the Redlands Police Department had volunteered their time.

Some of the tools used to solve crimes are microscopes and fingerprint kits. The Girl Scouts were able to use microscopes that had a small screen built onto it. Microscopes are used to analyze fingerprints, blood, DNA, and anything else that can’t be seen with the human eye. The screen on top let the girls see an image without having to squint their eyes. It was their own little television, or digital microscope.

Another way to check for fingerprints is to dust the area that may have been touched by a suspect. To practice this, the girls had to rub their faces and get oils on their fingers. Next, the girls put their prints on the table. Then they were able to go through the “dusting” to gather prints and prepare them for analysis.

Some of the jobs you can get in this area of work are crime scene analyst, evidence technician,  detective, forensics investigator and police office. For some of these jobs, you just need a high school diploma and training. For others, you need a four-year college degree.

I asked some of the Girl Scouts why they chose to attend this event. One girl said, “Because it sounded like fun!” Another girl commented, “I am interested in becoming a detective.” Several others wanted to earn their Girl Scout badge to show they learned something new.

Even though the Juniors and the Cadettes had great training to help them with their detective skills…we never found out who ate the cookies! Was it you?