During the Marshall Fire in 2021, the Superior Historical Museum was destroyed. The process of rebuilding has begun. To benefit the future of the museum, Ella created a scale model of the historic building that is displayed at the Town of Superior Community Center to promote the museum and inspire people in her community to visit and support the organization.
Ella shares how her Gold Award project impacted her.
My project surrounds the loss of an important historical site, The Superior Historical Museum, in my hometown of Superior, CO due to the most destructive fire in Colorado’s history, The Marshall Fire. More than 100 years old, the structure served as a home for coal miners in the Industrial Mine Camp near Coal Creek. It eventually became known as the Superior Historical Museum in 2008 where artifacts and exhibits were housed. I choose this as my Girl Scout Gold Award project because of its connectivity and importance to my hometown. Every second-grade student in Superior, including me, had been on a field trip to this very place. I successfully built a scale model replica of the Superior Historical Museum which will soon be displayed at the Town of Superior Community Center. I hope the scale model raises awareness and brings back the importance of the museum even though it's no longer a historical landmark that can be visited.
Completing my Girl Scout Gold Award allowed me to expand my knowledge of the museum. I got to know my mentor Larry Dorsey, the Chair of the Superior Historical Commission. He was always there to share with me an article or book from the past to help make this project a successful tribute to the museum. Larry will always leave a lifelong influence on the success of my project and my life. Without his help, my project couldn't have been completed. Being a Girl Scout has taught me a lot about leadership, volunteering, and community service, and being able to take on these opportunities over the past 12 years as a Girl Scout has been really special.