Weather Wise Try It

The Weather Wise Try it is a Council Own Try It from Black Diamond Council.  You can order this from their online store.

Read a fun weather story like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Activity 1:
Learn about homemade weather instruments, and make at least one. Use a weather watch calendar for at least three days.  (If you are going to do the Space Explorer Try It, you can combine this with the phases of the moon and record both for four weeks.)

Homemade Barometer.  Another Barometer
Homemade Hygrometer
Homemade Rain Gauge, another rain gauge
Homemade Weather Vane, Wind Vane
Homemade Compass
Homemade Anemomoeter

Activity 2:
Learn a weather myth or legend, and share it with a friend. Here's a few choices:

How Thunder and Lightning Came to Be
Weather Legends: Native American Lore and the Science of Weather

Activity 3:
Know the rules of safe conduct during a thunderstorm out of doors and indoors.

1. Inside a house during the storm, avoid showering or bathing because plumbing can conduct electricity. Don't use a corded telephone, but cordless and cell phones are okay.
2. If you are caught outside during a thunderstorm, find shelter immediately. If boating or swimming, get to land. If there is no building available, take shelter in a car. If you are in the woods, find an area with a clump of trees, not one single tree. If there is no place and you are in an open area, get away from trees, metal objects, and poles. Crouch low to the ground and place your hands on your knees, head between knees.
3. Myths about lightening: Rubber-soled shoes and rubber tires do not provide protection. Lightening can strike twice in the same place and may because the place is more vulnerable. Finally, there can be lightening and no rain.

Activity 4:

Learn about and make the five weather flags. Fly a weather flag each day.

Activity 5:

Scavenger Hunt:

1. Something that needs sun
2. Something that is blowing in the wind
3. Something that is bending in the wind
4. Something that cannot bend in the wind
5. Something that could protect you from the rain
6. A place that gets no, or very little, sunshine
7. Something that reflects sunlight
8. A cloud
9. Something the color of a cloud
10. Something that is the color of the sky on a sunny day 
11. Something that is the sign of the season (leaves turning color, plant shoots, bird nests, tree, blossoms, acorns, insects, etc.)
12. Something that moves from place to place
13. A shadow of a living thing
14. A shadow of a non-living thing
15. Something that has been changed or damaged by the weather
16. A piece of clothing that has something to do with the weather
17. Something that could soak up the rain
18. A puddle
19. Something that feels warm from the sun
20. Something that is damp

These could also be done in teams.  For fun, if you have some instant / digital cameras- the girls could take photos of the items they find.

-OR-

Take a Wind Walk.

Activity 6:

Learn ten of the weather symbols used by the National Weather Service.

 

 

Wisconsin Badgerland Council's Fabulous Council's Own

We are finishing up Big K's Chemistry badge, which I have to say has been one of the most fun to work on.  She has enjoyed every activity, and we have extended the activities as her interest develops.

To me, this is the whole point of Try-Its... to see what you like, what you are interested in.  Mom couldn't be more thrilled that Chemistry is one of them! (Apple not falling far from the tree, I guess...)

I was searching the Wisconsin Badgerland Council page, to see if there were any other fun Try-its from their Council Own page that Big K might want to work on when we were finished.  ALL of their badges are really well layed out with great plans that have substance.  I love that.

So, not living in Wisconsin-- I decided to see which of these were adaptable to the Dallas Fort Worth area of Texas. Many of these can be accomplished in the DFW area.  In fact most of these can be done at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Preserve.

• Let's Get Digging - Luckily, there are rocks here.  Plenty of them.  Since Big K really seems to "dig" rocks... we might stretch this out a bit, and collect them as we travel this spring/summer.  There are no caves in the Dallas area, but there are caves near Austin.  Not a neccessary activity-- but might be fun.

• Prairie Magic - Dallas/Fort Worth is in the Prairies and Lakes Region of Texas, so this one definitely might work.  Fort Worth holds Prairie Fest in April, and activities include free guided walking tours. In 2011, one of the activities was seed planting. (One of the Try-it requirements...).  If this isn't available, Bluebonnet seeds are widely available and can be planted in the spring.  Finish off by building a bird house, butterfly house, or planting  a butterfly bush.  (We live near the migration route for butterflies, so a buttrfly house might be nice.)    Another resource in our area is  the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. It offers Saturday hikes that point out wildflowers, animals and insects.

• Fun in the Forest- Getting to know trees is definitely doable.  The Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano offers a glimpse of Upland forest and Riparian Forest (also Blackland Prairie--for above patch..) The Upland Forest is uphill-- a tougher walk, and the Ripariean Forest is along creeks. The Upland forest is very unusual for Texas. Might want to bring a piece of paper to write down things that are living, dead, and were never alive-- to help remember later. Leave collection and planting the tree can be done in the neighborhood.

• Fossil Safari - North Texas is a fabulous place to find fossils.  The acitivies for this Try It are centered around 8 fossils you must find.  Some places do no let you remove the fossils, so you might want to bring a camera. The Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge has fossil limestone EVERYWHERE.  We found many, many fossils without even trying very hard.  Fossils can be found at digging, road construction sites-- but probably not super safe for an 8 year old.
• Ice Skating - Perfectly obtainable in DFW.  Only 1 activity requires actual ice skating, and can be done in a rink.  Many local rinks offer Brownie packages, but most do this in conjunction with the Sports and Games try It.  Talk to them in advance about what you want the girls to cover. The Polar Ice Rinks around town offer an affordable way to try out skating. (Currently $10 with skate rental)

• Our Feathered Friends - Is not specific to birds of Wisconsin.  This can be done anywhere. 

Definitely enough there to make it worth ordering a few.  Plunge in!

How to Earn your Brownie Chemistry Try It

The Girl Scouts of Wisconsin -Badgerland Council offer ther Council's Own Chemistry try it.  This is areally fun science one!
It's still available at this writing, but check before starting it with your own girls.
Their website is: http://gsbadgerland.org/ForGirls/BadgesandPatches/tabid/316/Default.aspx

There are several activities to choose from, and some others listed for areas where the girls might want to do even more.  All of the hands on experiments use things pretty readily found.

#1: Acids and Bases
This experiment uses litmus paper (available on Amazon.com or  from Learningresources.com) You'll probably want at least 10 strips per girl.  A package of 100 at this writing runs about $5.00.  I made a little chart, included here for the girls to use. It would also be good to have some dixie cups to hold the liquids.
This activity needs about 15-20 minutes, but if you have time-- it can go longer.  Natural curiosity takes over, and the girls wanted to test and compare other liquids too.

#2 Density
The experiment for denisty is an "oldie but a goody".  The dancing raisins!  (I love this one.)  The secret to making it work is to make SURE your raisins and your soda are FRESH.
The soda is listed as club soda, but any clear bubbly soda (like Sprite) will work.  Carbonated water (Perrier, etc.) do not work. They do not have enough bubble strength.
The raisins rise because the bubbles catch on the wrinkles in the raisins, increasing the surface area.  This does not change the weight of the raisin, just the area.  As the surface area increases, the raisins density decreases, so they rise.  When the bubbles reach the top- they pop.  This decreases the surface area, increasing the density of the raisin, which makes it sink.  They will continue to rise and fall as long as the liquid produces a strong amount of bubbles.
The experiment requires: Fresh raisins, clear cups (plastic are fine) and clear, sparkling liquid (not sparkling water).

#3 CO2 Interactions
Carbon Dioxide is a gas found in the atmosphere.  It is in the air we breathe. It is denser than air. Carbon Dioxide can be seen in soda as bubbles.

This experiment requires film canisters.  These are getting harder to find locally, but are still available plentifully on the web. Steve Spangler Science is one source, though his canisters are a bit pricey.  You can still find them on eBay at this point, for cheaper.  There's a great video about adding a variable on the Spangler website-- worth a look.

Needed : about 3 canisters and Alkaseltzer per girl.  Safety googles (Sunglasses would work...) outdoor area that can get messy (yard).


#4 - Polymers
A polymer is a long chain, with parts that are hooked together.  Think of a really long ladder.... the cross links make them stronger. The parts of polymers are very msall.  Plastics are an example of a polymer. There are also polymers in our bodies.

Each girl will need a plastic cup to mix in, and a plastic spoon.  As a group, you will need:
a LARGE bottle of elmers glue (perhaps two...) and a some Borax (laundry additive).

Mix one Tablespoon of the Borax in a cup of water.  (2 tablespoons in 2 cups if you have a large group.)
Each girl will use 2 Tablespoons of this mixture in her cup. Add 2 tablespoons of glue, and 2 tablespoons of water.

(This can also be done in baby food jars, if they are available... shake instead of stirring.)

Stir very hard and keep stirring. The mixture will become stringy. When it gets very stringy, you can take it out and work with it in your hands.

IT IS MESSY! The quicker you work it with your hands, the faster it becomes a solid.  Do not be afraid to put it in your hands and work it. (Trust me!)

All of these are super fun, and pretty quick.  :-)  Enjoy!

Math Fun, Colors and Shapes Try Its

This week is already full, so we will be working  on simple activities. 

From Math Fun, we will be completing #1 (My Numbers) portion.  This involves filling in numbers about yourself- your height, counting body parts, etc. 

Planned activity #3 -Can You Guess?  Involves making estimates on 7 different items.  We will take turns making guesses and calulating the results.  We will do this by giving the girls little containers (clear) to fill with different items.  They will then take turns guessing how many of each item the container holds.

Planned activity #4 - To start this activity, I gave each girl her own message coded using the system in the book.  I then let her figure it out, and read it.  Then, she had to answer me with a new coded message.  I also asked them to write a new code, and make me a message using the code.  They really enjoyed this!


Planned activity #6 - Calculate how much money your name is worth, using the chart.

These 4 activities could easily be done in one sitting.  We'll break them up, though- and do one a day.  It's the kind of activitity that works well after school at the kitchen table, while we are having snack.

No Longer Available Councils Own Try It Badges

No Longer Available Birds Bugs Butterfly Fun Confectionarily Yours Drop Everything and Read The Great Olympics Indian Lore On Ice On Stage Outdoor Skills Pet Love Photo Fun Science Wizardry Scrapbooking Sewing Sign Language Take a Hike Tea Party Water Safety & Fun

Brownie Try It Quest

A few things to know:
     These are try-its (now to be called badges) that Big K works on at home.  They also do them as a troop-- but those are not highlighted here. 
    
We don't always finish one before starting another.  This is because some times one of the activities may entice her, but we don't have the time/materials/resources to complete the whole badge at that time.  When we finish, I will update the original post, rather than start a new one.  (Help keep things tidy.)
   
 In an effort to not get ahead of the troop, I try to find try-its they won't be doing together.  We don't have a troop list of what they will work on.  So what to choose?  I have been trying to choose from The Council's Own.