“I’m a hands-on person and I’m a Lifetime Girl Scout. So, I typically have to demonstrate things in a visual way because it’s hard to communicate complex concepts to people, especially coding.
“I’ll never forget when I was in kindergarten. My teacher’s son came and was drawing on the board. I was like, ‘Oh my God, drawing on chalkboard. Amazing.’ So I have a chalkboard here and being able to quickly throw up concepts and captivate with a physical medium has always been my interest.
“Pre-pandemic, I was able to go to science fairs to do on-site demonstrations with basic projects. My Halloween favorite is the Barfing Pumpkin. The kids learn about the chemical reaction between soap and baking soda, and it’s kind of funny and weird and that’s what clicks with people. With younger Girl Scouts, the grosser, the weirder, the better.
“With the older Girl Scouts, one of my favorites is painting the Moon. We talk about the surface of the Moon and ask questions like ‘What does the moon look like? Is it made of cheese?’ And then they say, ‘It’s not made of cheese!’ ‘Well then, what is it?’
“So, I try to make it silly. Kids are very logical so it’s easy to break it down in that way.”
– Lauren Denson, Technical Group Supervisor and Quality Assurance Engineer, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Image Credit: NASA / Ryan Lannom
Interviewer: NASA / Thalia Patrinos