Alyssa T.
Girl Reporter
With the new release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, both new and old Star Wars fans rushed to movie theaters to see the magic. Meanwhile, in the Redlands office, Girl Scouts abandoned their regular uniforms in favor of Empire robes and Wookie costumes. On January 21st, 2017, Juniors and Cadettes went to the “Star Girls” event to join in on the galactic fun.
While waiting for everyone to arrive, the girls made Yoda origami and watched behind-the-scenes features from Rogue One played on a projector. It showed the special effects and work that went into the movie, including the animation of BB-8 and the actors behind the animal-like characters, such as Ponda Baba. The room was large with a galactic backdrop, and rows of tables filled with excited girls ready to start the activities. With a flashlight, a colored tube, decorative tape, and a little bit of creativity, each of the girls had their own lightsaber to take home. The girls eagerly showed their creations to each other, happily waving their colored swords back and forth, and looking like real Jedi masters. “My favorite part was the lightsaber,” said Emi Rose from Troop 1334, an avid Star Wars fan dressed as Princess Leia. “I like interacting [with others] and how everyone gets into it.”
The Scouts used an LED diode taped to a lithium battery as a light source to illuminate an empty glowstick, making a sort of mini lightsaber attached to a card (“May the Force be With You”), which is perfect a Valentine’s day card to a Star Wars fanatic. After being treated to a delicious pizza dinner, the Scouts learned about how the Force works-and how the forces in our world work. They incorporated STEM activities into making amazing Star Wars creations and learning about the world. The room of girls then split into different activities, each Star Wars themed. One great example was when the girls used a Fun Fly Stick to levitate a piece of Mylar using a negative static electricity charge. Another of the activities was making a pyramid hologram like Princess Leia did in the fourth movie. They used an app (vyomy for Android and hologramium for iPhone) and a trapezoid plastic sheet template that, when put together, made a pyramid. It was really cool to see the holographic images come to life! The girls also made a “galaxy in a bottle” using water, cotton balls, paint, and glitter to create the illusion of an elaborate galaxy. Others still made droids out of plastic and even a spaceship out of toilet paper rolls.
At the end of the day, all the girls were visited by a few special guests…characters from the movie, including Stormtroopers, Imperial pilots, and a Jedi master! They brought a droid made of several different parts with them, that followed the girls around like a small puppy and cruised along around the office. The night of fun ended in a special group picture to be remembered by all, and a special Star Girls patch.
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