WASHINGTON (AP) — Some lucky Girl Scouts were set to experience the ultimate in camping Tuesday: an overnight in tents pitched on the White House South Lawn.
It was the first time that one of the country’s most well-known expanses of manicured grass was turned into a campground, an excited Michelle Obama said as she greeted the 50 Girl Scouts who snagged coveted invitations to the outdoor sleepover.
“This is something you can tell your kids and your grandkids,” said Mrs. Obama, who appeared giddy with excitement as she pointed to the celebrated white building beyond row after row of carefully arranged blue and white tents. “Do you understand the impact, the importance of this moment today. It’s exciting.”
As honorary national president of the Girl Scouts, the first lady welcomed the fourth-graders for the evening, which was arranged as part of her Let’s Move initiative against childhood obesity. One component of the program encourages kids and their families to take advantage of the outdoors.
The girls, who represent Girl Scout councils in Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Columbia and Oklahoma, spent the afternoon climbing rock walls, tying knots, pitching tents and participating in orienteering exercises to earn a new outdoor badge.
After dark, the girls were to sing songs, perform skits and gaze up at the stars under instruction from NASA staff and scientists before the scouts call it a night and head for their two-person tents. About 20 chaperones were also spending the night outside.
The White House declined to say whether the first lady would be trading her second-floor bedroom for a tent, too.
Mrs. Obama, who was not a Girl Scout, said she didn’t know if she could “officially earn a badge but I want to try” and asked the scouts for some help.
“I don’t know anything. I don’t know how to tie a knot. I don’t know how to pitch a tent,” she said, before drawing a proverbial line against one of their activities. “I’m definitely not climbing that wall.”
She did, however, master the art of tying the overhand knot and the square knot.
The campout was co-sponsored by the Interior Department and celebrates the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
The White House is a national park.
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