This year GSUSA's new badges included a Shapes in Nature badge for Brownies. This post will take a look at and summarize the VTK plans. The goal is to give leaders an easy way to look at the activities and decide if the badge is right for their troop, without making them read pages upon pages of VTK scripts. However, if you decide to do the badge I do highly recommend reviewing the plans on VTK as they give the terms and concepts you are trying to teach, whereas I'm focusing more on the activities.
Requirements
According to Badge Explorer, to earn the Shapes in Nature badge girls:
- Track natural objects
- Graph natural objects
- Make a spiderweb with symmetry
- Explore tessellations and
- Collect data about birds
When you've earned this badge, you will know about counting, graphing, symmetry, and tessellations.
You’ll also know about spiders, birds, and other natural objects.
Track Natural Objects
The first activity for the badge teaches observation skills, categorization and recording data via tally marks. The leader has the girls discuss different types of things they might find in nature and she makes a list and then leads the girls in categorizing these things---natural vs manmade, living vs non-living, type of animal, or even type of snail. Girls make a "Foldable" (pattern given) on which to record data and then go looking for the objects on their Foldable either online, in a book or outside by their meeting place, and record data using tally marks.
Graph Natural Objects
In the second step, Brownies use the data collected in Step One to create either a Bar Graph, a Pie Chart or a Word Cloud.
Make a Spiderweb With Symmetry
After a discussion about symmetry and how it gives spider webs strength, girls are assigned a number of radials to use in creating a spider web with glue. First, they draw the assigned number of radials with a ruler and pencil, making sure to intersect them all in the middle. Next they cover the radials with glue (and while it doesn't say to do so, I'll bet some Crafty Cathy will give the girls glitter) and then spiral from one to another. The leader helps them observe that the more radials there are, the more like a circle the web appears and that the number of section is equal to the number of radials.
Another option is to make a group web by throwing a ball of yarn around the circle of girls. A script is given helping her to review words like radial and symmetry. The yarn is cut to allow symmetrical radials and then the spirals are woven in.
The final option given is to make a spiderweb of yarn and sticks. Again girls are given different numbers of sticks and there are discussions of terms like radial, orb, symmetry, and different types of polygons. As I mentioned above, the VTK plans give the talking points that change this from a classic Girl Scout craft into a math lesson.
Explore Tessellations
Leaders are given a sheet showing several tessellations in nature and share it with the girls and talk about the patterns. There is also a photo of a quilt square. The leaders discusses tessellations in nature and asks the girls if they can think of others. Then the girls use a leaf to draw a tessellation pattern. They put the leaf in the middle of the a paper, and then trace it. They then move it over so that the edge fits with the prior outline, and then trace it again, and repeat. The leader reminds the girls that there are no gaps and no overlap. The girls can color their pattern.
Another option is for the leader to hide photos or other tessellations around the room and the girls hunt for them.
The final choice is to make a quilt, either with paper or fabric.
No matter which activity is chosen, the leader should talk about the definition of tessellations and about how they are strong, and part of nature.
Collect Data About Birds
The final activity is to create a data table and then go birdwatching to fill it in with tally marks. The birdwatching can be either live or online. The leader should provide a field guide regarding birds they are likely to see. Other options are to tie this activity in with Citizen Science or to include acting like a bird in the activity.
My Comments
These activities sound like fun to me, and could be made a part of a weekend camping trip or day at the park (since Covid has camping on hold). They also give you a chance to explore some topics not usually considered "STEM". For example, I've been wanting to do a sewing activity, and making quilt pattern pillows could fit into this badge. We could do a trip to the park and do the scavenger hunt activity and the bird watching on the trip and the spider web craft would be easy to work into a Halloween meeting. I'm big on taking as long as I want on a badge and even working on more than one at a time--that trip to the park could include requirements for the hiker badge or EcoFriends or....
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