Girl Scouts Learn Carpentry Skills In St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- About 100 Girl Scouts showed up at the Twin Cities Carpenters Training Center in St. Paul Saturday.

Twenty-five female carpenters from North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters hosted the event.

Barb Pecks is a carpenter and on the council.

"It's important for women to be doing this because we're actually modeling that girls can do this and women can do," Pecks said. "If you don't see someone doing this, you don't think of it as a possibility."

The Girl Scouts proved a captive audience.

"I knew girls did it but I never thought that this many did it in this place," said Zumbrota Girl Scout Billie Jean Emeline.

It seems this model of mentorship is sticking.

"We just screwed in some nails over there and pounded them in," Emeline said. "I like doing things, it's like really fun."

Girl Scout Maggie Fuller says she likes Legos, but this experience was even better.

"I like doing my own stuff and I get to use my hands," Fuller said.

And Pecks says that's the whole idea.

"Maybe in 10 or 15 years, they'll remember back to this and think, 'Hey, this is something that I can do,'" Pecks said.

The girls applied their new skills and completed a big project Saturday.

"It's pretty cool that they're teaching us that girls can really do anything," said Zumbrota Girl Scout Bobbie Rae Benson.

Click here to learn more about Kids Builds and Girls Builds.