Mayor Joffe Certifies for Guinness Book as Girl Scouts Build “World’s Tallest Cookie Tower”

Feb. 29, 2008

Event kicks off start of cookie booth sales

 Girl Scouts from throughout the San Gabriel Valley soared to new heights this week as they set the new Guinness World Record^TM for the “World’s Tallest Cookie Tower.”  (In photo at left, Katherine Poulin-Kerstien, Program Manager for the Girl Scouts STEM program, and Sierra Madre Mayor Enid Joffe verify the tower’s dimensions for certification by Guiness).   The Guinness World Record^TM attempt was part of a special showcase event on Friday, Feb. 29, 2008 that Girl Scouts – Mt. Wilson Vista Council, in partnership with the California School of Culinary Arts Baking Club and Paseo Colorado and Southern California Edison, hosted to kick off the start of Girl Scout Cookie booth sales in Southern California. Booth sales will continue in the area now through March 22, 2008.

More than 70 Girl Scouts – working together as the Stacker Packer Cookie Girls – completed a 5’4” cookie tower created out of nearly 20,000 Do-Si-Do and Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. The former world record stands at 5’2 ¼”. Once the record attempt was set and documented, the girls continued to construct and decorate the tower, bringing it to an unofficial 5’7”. (In picture at right, Ahyoka and Samantha of Mt. Wilson Vista Council work on the all important foundation of the tower in the early stages.)   Girl Scouts – Mt. Wilson Vista Council will soon send documentation to Guinness World Records^TM  in London, England, to certify the new world record.

The cookie tower project continued Girl Scouts’ recent commitment of providing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs to build and reinforce girls’ interest in the STEM fields.  Girl Scouts and local engineer and architecture experts worked together to strategize and design the architectural feat. The girls worked with professionals to decide which cookies to use, considering their weight, shape, and how well they could withstand the pressure of stacking. The nine-tiered design included 145 layers of cookies and weighed over 425 pounds.

Construction began on Feb. 28, and successfully concluded just shy of 16 hours on Friday, Feb. 29. Girls worked in shift teams to construct the tower, while official witnesses, from firefighters to public officials, documented the process at all times. Little Brownie Bakers donated the cookies for the project.

The kick-off event, which put the spotlight on the Annual Girl Scout Cookie Program, America’s leading business and economic literacy program for girls, also included a “cookie creations” contest for girls and the unveiling of the largest Samoa Girl Scout Cookie in Southern California. The 70-inch cookie marvel, complete with coconut and caramel, was created by The California School of Culinary Arts Baking Club. (In photo below left, more than 70 Girl Scouts from throughout the San Gabriel Valley region worked in shift teams Feb. 28-29 at Paseo Colorado in Pasadena to build the “World’s Tallest Cookie Tower” using Girl Scout Cookies. –Photo by Connie Park) Chefs also created themed edible centerpieces out of Girl Scout Cookies.

 The Girl Scout Cookie Program is not only an entrepreneurial activity for girls, but helps fund troop activities; provides funding for high quality, low-cost Girl Scout programs and camps for more than 9,000 girls and support for more than 4,400 volunteers; and helps thousands of girls from lower socio-economic communities experience the benefits of Girl Scouting.   

Girl Scout Cookies, which sell for $4 a box, can be ordered from neighborhood Girl Scouts or at booths in front of many grocery stores and other public places now through March 22, 2008.  To place an order with a local Girl Scout, call the Council Office at (626) 445-7771, ext. 305. You can also visit www.girlscoutssocal.org  to find a local booth location.

This year’s sale features eight varieties, including Thin Mints, Samoas, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, TagaLongs and All Abouts.  Plus this year’s new additions, Lemon Chalet Cremes and Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips.  And, this year all Girl Scout Cookies are zero percent trans fat.

Girl Scouts – Mt. Wilson Vista Council serves more than 9,000 girls and young women, ages five to 17, in 23 San Gabriel Valley communities. The Council is chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA, the world's preeminent organization for girls. Today, as when founded in 1912, Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.   For more information on how to register your daughter, volunteer your time or donate to the Girl Scouts, call (626) 445-7771 or visit www.gsmwvc.org.