Girl Scouts Show Their Inventive Side at White House Science Fair

A group of Girl Scouts headed to Washington, DC, this week to show off a battery-powered page turner they invented at the 2015 White House Science Fair.

The team of 6-year-old Girl Scout Daisies from Oklahoma, also known as “The Supergirls,” were among a host of young inventors and scientists from around the country who were being honored at the fifth annual science fair. They were also there to exhibit their inventions, discoveries, and experiments.

The idea for the page-turner, made of Legos, originated from a conversation the girls had with their librarian about the difficulty some people have while reading.

“They realized that some people who might be paralyzed or arthritic might have trouble turning pages on a book, so they invented this page turner,” said President Obama after talking with the Supergirls about their invention, according to The New York Times  (opens in a new tab). “It was awesome.”

The Supergirls weren’t the only Girl Scouts at the fair. Lauren Prox of Virginia was there to talk about her “Reaching New Altitudes” project, which focuses on getting more women and minorities involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

Girl Scouts USA is committed to increasing girls’ involvement in STEM fields, CEO Anna Maria Chávez said in a statement  (opens in a new tab). “When girls succeed, so does society. We all have a role to play in making girls feel supported and capable when it comes to involvement in STEM fields—and anything else they set their minds to and have traditionally been steered away from.”

Last year, the group partnered with a handful of other nonprofits and Google to introduce girls to the world of coding as part of the Made With Code Initiative.

The White House, meanwhile, announced more than $240 million  (opens in a new tab) in new commitments from businesses and the government to help more young girls and boys, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, get involved in STEM fields. The commitments were announced at the science fair.

A group of Oklahoma Girl Scouts give President Barack Obama a group hug. (Twitter photo)