Girl Scouts build gaga ball pit at Ridgely park

Girl Scouts do more than just sell yummy cookies.

Each year, girls up and down the Eastern Shore learn skills and earn badges that help build them into better citizens. In addition to having fun and learning how to be savvy entrepreneurs, the girls participate in many community service projects and work to identify and solve needs in their hometowns.

Last month, Girl Scout Juniors from Troop 896 and Troop 899, based out of Queen Anne’s County, joined together to construct a Gaga Ball Pit at Martin Sutton Park in Ridgely.

This Bronze Award service project was the culmination of hundreds of hours of planning and advocating over the previous nine months. The Bronze Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior (fourth and fifth graders) can earn, and it requires the girls to identify a community need and help produce a solution.

They decided on helping make Ridgely and neighboring communities a better place to play, and that lead to choosing to donate a Gaga Ball Pit to the park. They presented their plan and asked for permission to build the pit at a Ridgely Town Hall meeting last fall, and the Town Council accepted the proposal.

On June 2, the plan that they had all worked so hard to create was taken into action, and with the help of their dads, the girls constructed the pit. Through this process, they learned how to draw up plans, take measurements and utilize basic construction skills.

Gaga Ball is a fun, fast-paced and inclusive game for families and children to enjoy. Players use their hands to hit a ball at their opponents below the knees.

It combines the skills of dodging, running and jumping to avoid getting hit by the ball. It has quickly become a popular sport for children, with many nearby public schools having Gaga Ball Pits on their grounds.

It promotes physical activity and outdoor play and is easy to learn. The Girl Scouts also have Gaga Ball Pits nearby at Camp Todd and Camp Grove Point, and they have proven to be a great source of fun for those who visit.

All are encouraged to stop by the new site at Martin Sutton Park for a fun break this summer.