Girl Scout Braiya Thompson, 7, stood mesmerized as she peered into a green-tinted box. The laser-cutting machine hummed with life.
After activity guide Ella Daniels fiddled with the laptop connected to the machine, a zap. Then, a flash.
The machine, called an xTool, carved Braiya’s name on a small piece of panel — a charm that she could loop onto a bracelet. This would be among the keepsakes from being a part of Troop 305, adding to her collection of colorful patches scattered across her brown vest.
In the so-called “tinker room,” Braiya was surrounded by high-tech gadgets and her fellow troop members. She was among the 300 attendees to celebrate the opening of the Dallas County Girl Scout Dream Lab in southern Dallas Saturday morning.
The Education Lab
The repurposed 10,000-square-foot facility includes climbing walls, a podcasting room, kitchen, outdoor space, a multipurpose room and more. The DreamLab aims to spark curiosity in STEM among young women and make inroads with underserved communities.
People mingle during the public opening of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas’ DreamLab.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
“It’s a space built for girls by girls,” said Jennifer Bartkowski, the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. “We are thrilled to be able to offer this to the girls of southern Dallas.”
The 113-year-old national organization saw a significant drop in membership during the pandemic. Girl Scouts youth membership dropped from about 1.4 million in 2019-2020 to just over 1 million in 2021, according to the Associated Press.
It was a flashpoint for Girl Scouts to reimagine itself, as Bartkowski still sees concerning statistics indicating that girls desire belonging and community. Girl Scouts is committed to serving “more communities in more inclusive ways,” honing in on “underchampioned” areas, like southern Dallas, she said.
“Families wanted what Girl Scouts had to offer,” Bartkowski said. “But they didn’t know us, or they didn’t have access to us. We needed to show up differently.”
The opportunity to attend an all-girls private school is not always accessible, she noted. But, single-gender spaces, like the DreamLab, are essential for young women to build confidence and explore their interests, she said.
“We want to make that space available for all girls,” she said. “If we can do that, those girls are going to become women who run communities, schools, governments and companies.”
Former U.S. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson helped secure federal funding for the DreamLab before she died in 2023. This is the second and largest DreamLab in Texas, with the first one located in Flower Mound.
More than 18,000 girls in northeast Texas are involved with Girl Scouts, according to Bartkowski. She hopes to introduce thousands more into the organization by 2030.
On Saturday morning, Girl Scouts crowded into the DreamLab for some fun. Adventurous souls tried tackling a rotating rock climbing wall, which slowly spun as the climber stretched for the blue, pink and purple holds.
Susanne Elliott, 5, of Troop 1608 uses the rotating rock climbing wall during the public opening.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Two Dallas Morning News journalists attempted to scale the wall and promptly fell onto the mats. But Susanne Elliott, 5, and her brother Wesley Elliott, 9, found it easy-peasy.
In a large multipurpose room, girls were treated to a sighting of a Texas tortoise named Mystery, brought in by Eric Brittingham, the president of Wildlife On the Move, which provides programming for Girl Scouts.
He held the creature with a crumbled bundle of paper towels, which he called a “tortoise diaper.” “The ultimate party pooper,” he said of Mystery.
Elsewhere, girls played around with circuits and batteries and enjoyed pastries. Others poked their eyes into microscopes.
Carmen Velazquez helps daughters Emily Velazquez, 1, and Mia Velazquez, 9, of Troop 6701 use a microscope.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Sitting in a booth, Aanya Lakhani, 15, exclaimed about the blue specks she observed through the lens.
Aanya hopes to be a doctor, but on Saturday morning, she was a podcaster.
As part of the Girl Scouts’ podcasting club, she was set to interview Krys Boyd, the host and managing editor of KERA-FM’s flagship midday talk show Think.
The DreamLab had just the right place for these budding journalists to conduct the interview: a brand-new podcasting studio.
Patches seen on a Girl Scout using the podcast room.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
“We are not your grandparents’ Girl Scouts,” Bartkowski said. “We’re about STEM. We’re about confidence. We’re about public speaking.”
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.