For her Gold Award project, Girl Scout Brianna Burton from Senior Troop 1548 from Thornton worked with more than 20 kids from the summer program at Stargate Public Charter School to teach them about cultures from around the world through games and crafts.

The kids learned about cultures such as Japanese, Mexican, African, Italian, Russian, English and Scottish, by studying religion, art, food and traditional costumes. Brianna worked with the kids twice per week during the months of June and July.

"It was amazing working with younger children and witnessing their identification with cultural appreciation," said Brianna. "They were fresh and so open to so many new things and ideas."

The final phase of Brianna’s project was to have the kids paint a 5.5’ X 10’ mural representing the cultures they’ve learned about. The mural, painted on canvas, will hang at Stargate School.

"The best class I taught with the children was based on dance," said Brianna. "The kids found it so much fun to investigate the costuming and the purposes behind so many cultures' movements, so I took the theme and centered it into the murals layout."

"My favorite culture I learned about was Japanese, with all its traditions, costumes and dances," said Naomi Cruz, 9, from Firestone. "I’m of Mexican descent, so it was fun to learn about different cultures than mine."

"I liked learning about the different cultures in the world," said Collin Yeager, 7, from Thornton. "But I love the painting. Painting makes you really active and you get super messy." By the time she has completed her project,

Brianna, who is a Senior at Thornton High School, logged more than 80 community service hours.

"Working on my Girl Scout Gold Award has opened me up to becoming a real adult," said Brianna. "I feel so much more accomplished on finishing my Gold Award, more so than any other project I can remember. The best part is that I know I did it all on my own, its the best feeling in the world."