Girl Scouts tour the world during ‘Thinking Day’

Maricopa Girls Scouts, from kindergarten Daisies to high school Senior Scouts, took a global journey Saturday morning as part of World Thinking Day 2010.

Each year girls participate in activities, games and projects with global themes to honor their sister scouts and Girl Scouts in other countries. This year’s event included learning opportunities about countries like Japan, Mexico, Australia and Ireland, among others.

Approximately 140 girls and their troop leaders participate in Thinking Day, which was held at Butterfield Elementary School. This year’s theme was “together we can end extreme poverty and hunger,” and each girl was asked to bring a can of food for the local food bank.

Each troop chose a country and created an informational display about the people, food, geography and products of that locale. The girls rotated through the displays by troops, sampling the foods of each country, playing a game and taking notes on what they learned. They each received a pin for their vest or sash relating to the country studied. For example, Troop 656 made origami whale pins for their country, which was Japan.

Thinking Day began in 1926 as a way of creating a special day for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from around the world to “think” of each other and appreciate their sister scouts. In 1999 the name was changed from Thinking Day to “World” Thinking Day. It is always celebrated in February.

The annual event serves as a reminder that Girl Scouts USA is part of a larger, global community of nearly 150 countries with Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Photos by Joyce Hollis