PENINSULA, Ohio — Grab a hard hat and safety vest — we're on site at the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio's STEM Center of Excellence at Camp Ledgewood in Peninsula! The are only a few centers like this in the country.
"We're starting construction tours because we're at a point where you can really start to see the individual rooms and the function of all the spaces within the building," Jean Christyson, the CEO of Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, says.
"We think ours is very unique because of the way that we are dealing with the spaces, how we have created spaces for each kind of functional area for the kids to enjoy," Christyson told 3News. "And then the outdoor facility, it's really a whole campus."
Located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the 8,000-square-foot building will house a wet lab and workshop space. Outside, there are rain gardens, additional classrooms, and more.
Making the world a better place, through nature-inspired design, is the center's theme.
"We want them to get outside, as well, see what nature does, and use that nature to inspire them for their own inventions," Christyson added.
The Girl Scouts made STEM one of its four core pillars, along with life skills, outdoors, and entrepreneurship. Its new center helps fill the urgent need for more female voices in STEM careers.
"We really feel this is an opportunity to lift all boats in our community," Christyson said. "The STEM jobs that are available now are fast-growing, high-paying, and we want to make sure that there's people in Northeast Ohio that can take advantage of those."
It opens next spring to both boys and girls through schools in the area. It's estimated 100,000 students are within 30 minutes of the facility.
"The first people to use it will be our girls at summer camp," Christyson stated, "and then we'll be inviting both boys and girls on field trips starting in fall of '25."
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