Big K's Brownie Blog: 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)