Girl Scouts Power Girls: Powered by Mortenson
Mortenson’s Civil, Solar, Power, and Wind teams provided Girl Scouts with hands-on projects to learn about the many opportunities available in the construction industry!
Article Summary
Our team welcomed a group of Girl Scouts to the Minneapolis office for an interactive introduction to the world of construction! Building on a successful event in 2024, the team was excited to host another hands-on event supporting girls in grades 5 – 8 as they worked toward earning their Power Girls Patch, designed to spark interest in the construction trades and strengthen STEM skills.
Key Takeaways
- For the second time, our teams hosted Girl Scouts to gain a better understanding of the industry and the career opportunities at await them in construction.
- Through breakout sessions led by Mortenson volunteers, 50 Girl Scouts explored renewable energy concepts and construction careers through engaging, hands-on activities in the areas of Wind, Solar, and Civil!
- Mortenson volunteers were eager to expand the mindset of these young girls by showing them varied opportunities in STEM fields, as one volunteer shared, “I was excited volunteers were able to show these girls that there are strong, confident women in construction and demonstrated ‘This could be them!’”
Recently, our Wind, Solar, and Civil teams welcomed a group of Girl Scouts to the Minneapolis office for an interactive introduction to the world of construction! Building on a successful event in 2024, the team was excited to host another hands-on event supporting girls in grades 5 – 8 as they worked toward earning their Power Girls Patch, designed to spark interest in the construction trades and strengthen STEM skills.
The Girl Scouts gained a better understanding of the industry and the career opportunities in construction. They felt a sense of pride in completing activities, both solo and as a team, that required critical thinking and problem-solving. Our volunteers were eager to expand the mindset of these young girls by showing them varied opportunities in STEM fields. Anna, from our Wind team, shared, “I was excited volunteers were able to show these girls that there are strong, confident women in construction and demonstrated ‘This could be them!’”
Through breakout sessions led by Mortenson volunteers, 50 Girl Scouts explored renewable energy concepts and construction careers through engaging, hands-on activities in the areas of Wind, Solar, and Civil!
Wind: Build Your Own Wind Turbine
The Wind team’s activity utilized paper cups, popsicle sticks, and hot glue to create a miniature wind turbine. The rotor was connected to a small battery with an LED secured to the back. The girls placed their turbine in front of a fan to test their light and problem-solve ways to increase the power generation through manipulating wind direction, turbine ‘blade’ placement and size, etc. Girl Scouts also had the opportunity to operate a power drill (with Personal Protective Equipment of course) in the construction of their turbine!
Solar: Solar House
With our Solar team volunteers, Girl Scouts built, decorated, and illuminated their own paper house! After cutting out the house framework, the girls created a circuit with copper tape from the interior of the house to connect to the solar panel they installed on the roof. They were able to see their house light up and discuss the importance of copper tape in conducting electricity, correctly matching +/- terminals, and how power is generated from the solar panel on the roof.
Civil: Deep and Shallow Foundations
The Girl Scouts gained hands-on engineering experience during this exciting breakout session, exploring how different soil properties impact construction. By testing soil strength and stability, they discovered how what’s below the ground plays a significant role in what can be built above ground. The activity connected these experiments to real-world foundation design, showing how engineers use soil knowledge to design safe and sturdy structures!