THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 1996 TAG: 9610040054
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 65 lines
Slime - OOZING, squishing through the fingers in a rainbow of colors - will one of the top attractions at today's Girl Scout Expo 1996 in Portsmouth.
When Ethel Robbin guarantees the slime's popularity, she speaks from experience. For the past four years, Robbin, a longtime Girl Scout volunteer, has been known as ``the slime lady.'' She mixes up gallons of the sought-after concoction, following a formula developed by a chemistry professor at Norfolk State University.
``You would think the kids would get tired of this, but they ask for it year after year,'' Robbin said.
Hundreds of sandwich bags of slime will be given away to guests at this year's Expo, the fifth annual festival celebrating the beginning of the Girl Scout membership year.
The Expo, open to the public, will be held on the Portsmouth Campus of Tidewater Community College. Last year's Expo drew 3,400 guests, and more are expected this year.
``Expo is unique,'' said Ann Lester, marketing specialist for the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast. ``The event brings in the community to help celebrate Girl Scouting by providing fun, interesting and educational activities for girls, their families and the community.''
Since Girl Scouting started almost 85 years ago, its programs have become increasingly diverse, serving the needs and interests of girls from ages 5 to 17. The Expo will offer an equally diverse array of activities in an effort to update the community on what Girl Scouting is all about and to encourage girls to expand their horizons by joining.
Black Hawk and Red Hawk, Native American storytellers from the Cherokee and Choctaw nations, will tell tales of their tribes' culture and heritage. The storytellers, members of Young Audiences of Virginia, will be joined by Art Johnson, an African-American storyteller from Colonial Williamsburg.
Nauticus, the U.S. Army transportation center at Fort Eustis, the Virginia Air and Space Center, and the Virginia Zoo will have exhibits.
Melanie Ustick is a Girl Scout volunteer who coordinates the council's caving and rappelling activities. She will supervise two simulated caves at the Expo where youngsters can practice crawling through confined spaces and learn more about caving adventures.
PX3 Pan Players, a youth steel drum troupe from Portsmouth, will perform on one stage while the Dazzlin' Image Cloggers from Suffolk will show off their steps on another stage. African Outfitters will present native African fashion shows, the Malawi African Dance Troupe will perform authentic tribal dances and sky divers from Sky Dive Suffolk will jump from 4,000 feet.
Expo '96 also will include jugglers, costumed characters on skates, health screenings, and demonstrations in frontier living, martial arts and button making.
Games and races, including carnival games and a mile run, will be supervised by students from Old Dominion University's department of physical education and recreation. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GIRL SCOUT COUNCIL OF COLONIAL COAST
Black Hawk Waters, a storyteller from the Oklatannap Chata tribe,
will use historical props to illustrate his stories at Girl Scout
Expo 1996 at the Portsmouth Campus of Tidewater Community College.
Graphic
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KEYWORDS: GIRL SCOUTS by CNB