The Girl Scouts of the USA joined forces with the Discovery Cube Orange County science center and museum and the Orange County Regional FBI office to create a week-long experience designed to introduce girls to internet safety, cyber investigations, and careers in the FBI.
The week-long camp, which ended on July 20, had the 6th through 8th-grade girls learn how to investigate cybercrimes fingerprint, conduct victim interviews, collect forensic evidence, interpret blood spatter and extract DNA. The closing event was a mock grand jury trial where the scouts presented the evidence they had gathered earlier.
The participants all earned the Girl Scout Cadette Special Agent Badge.
Various departments in the U.S. federal government have organized similar events to spur interest in cybersecurity as a career.
Great Falls College of Montana State University earlier this summer hosted for the first time CyberCamp for teens with an interest in cybersecurity to students from 12 to 18 years old.
The camp was developed by the Air Force Association as part of the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education Program. Those who attended the camp were trained for and can now participate in the regularly held CyberPatriot Program competitions that held through the year, the schools said in a statement.