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This year GSUSA came out with three new "maker" badges for Daisies, Brownies and Juniors. This post takes a look at the VTK plans for the Brownie version of Create and Innovate to give you an idea of where this badge is going without having to dig through the whole VTK plan. As with the other badges in this series, the talking points are as important as the craft.
Badge Steps
According to Badge Explorer, for this badge girls discover how makers turn ideas into objects, improve them, and make the world better.
- Explore innovation
- Make something for someone else
- Create for good
- Get down to business
- Share your creation
When they've earned this badge, girls will know how to create objects that help others.
Opening 1
Before the first meeting, the leader sets up two stacks of books with a space between. She tells the girls to use a piece of paper to make a bridge between the stacks that can hold pennies and to make the bridge by folding the paper in various ways. Girls try to see which design holds the most pennies. During the opening circle girls share their designs and how well they worked. Then the leader goes over the design thinking process--the same process that is used in Think Like and Engineer and the Mechanical Engineering badges, and the meaning of "create" and "innovate".
Explore Innovation
Solve a Problem Two Ways
For this choice, the leader presents a problem like a dog being afraid of slipping when walking across a slick floor. Girls brainstorm for solutions and then act out unsuccessful attempts and brainstorm ways to improve their idea. Next the group brainstorms for problems a simple object could solve--problems like an easy way to carry a snack, or remember homework. As a group the girls brainstorm solutions to the problem and then each girl chooses two of the solutions and sketches prototypes of them. While they are sketching the leader asks them to consider the design process. When they are done the girls compare sketches and offer suggestions to improve each one.
Brainstorm Solutions
After the dog exercise above, the girls look around the meeting place and consider the world and, as a group, create a list of problems in the world, school, home or meeting place. Then they get in a circle and the leader states on of the problems and tosses one girl a ball. She has to state a solution before tossing the ball to another girl. The group tries to come up with as many solutions as possible to each problem.
Improve Something
This choice also starts with the dog exercise. Next, girls think of things they use often, like backpacks. They draw one and then think of a way to make it better. They draw and label their improvements and then share them with others.
Make Something for Someone Else
All three choices for this step include a discussion of the words "maker", "user", "want" and "need" as well as a discussion of user-centered design. Then the girls make something for someone else. They either make something beautiful, something useful or something else. They talk about the tools and materials used and how the project can be personalized for the recipient. Then the Brownies are supposed to sketch their project and test it to make sure it really works. Suggested projects are:
- Make Something Beautiful: Suggested projects are a suncatcher (instructions provided), a mural about your community, a flower box for a relative or a windchime for a friend.
- Make Something Useful: While no directions are given, suggested projects are a caddy made of cardboard boxes or wood, a kaper chart for your troop or a guide to welcome visitors to your community.
- Make Something Else: Directions are furnished for sewing a felt animal, but while they say to do a straight running stitch and to tie it off with a double knot, the directions do not tell a non-sewer how to do a straight running stitch. Other suggested projects are digital photo albums or a step stool.
Opening Two
As the opening activity for meeting two, girls are supposed to interview each other about problems they face. They are then supposed to sketch a solution to the problem. In the opening circle they share how their inventions meet the user's needs.
Create for Good
The talking points for this section talk about features and function--what the project is to be used for an what it needs to do that job. The girls then sketch their project and label the features. They are supposed to test their idea and make sure it works the way they want it to (not sure how you test a sketch but...). Then they make their project. The first choice is to Make something for yourself. There are directions for making a wallet. Other suggestions are to make a journal, build a small bookshelf or make bath salts.
For Make for the Community a recipient is selected, such as the animal shelter, the local park or a senior citizen center. Girls brainstorm projects that could help the recipient and then a representative is brought in either as a live speaker or via video conferencing to talk about the problems they have. Girls then share what they learned, identify a problem they can solve, and decide what they can create to solve the problem. They draw a sketch labeling the features and and their functions. They then create the project. The leader talks about user-centered design and the troop is supposed to work with the community recipient to make sure that what they are creating will be useful.
The leader begins Make for the Outdoors with a discussion of what problems people and animals face in the outdoors. Girls then brainstorm solutions to those problems. The leader then shows the girls the project they will be making and they talk about tools, materials, functions, and features and talk about who might be the user for this project. Girls then sketch the project and label the parts and features, individualizing it for their intended user. They are also supposed to test it, again, not sure how you test a sketch but... Instructions are given to create seed balls. Other suggested projects are designing a first aid kit or emergency kit for hiking or organizing a community seed bank.
Get Down to Business
This step takes one of the projects done for this badge and makes it the subject of a new business. The leader talks about the words "Product" and "Marketing". Then the girls either design packaging for their product, create an advertisement for it or expand it into other products. The ads can be print or digital. Examples of expanding it including putting the same design on other products or a soap maker expanding into lotions. Girls sketch their ideas and label the parts and features.
Share Your Creation
Share your creation takes the business aspect one step further. The first choice suggests getting the users for the project in Create for Good to provide feedback. Brownies share their projects, including the function of their project, how they used user-centered design to choose features, and how they used the design thinking process to plan, build, test, and improve what they made. Girls then ask for feedback. After everyone has done this, girls brainstorm and sketch innovations to their project based on what they learned. The leader asks questions to guide the process. If there are additional materials the girls can remake their projects with improvements.
Another option for this step is to lead Brownies through the process of teaching others to do their project. The girls identify who they will teach, how they will do it, and what steps need to be taught.
The final choice is to develop and practice giving a short pitch about their project.
My Comments
I once heard Girl Scouts described as "Camping, Crafts and Cookies" and it wasn't a compliment. I understand that there is little value in many traditional Girl Scout crafts like making things from GIMP, or making a "God's eye" out of yarn and sticks, or many projects you see girls do with kits from Michaels or Hobby Lobby. However, I think there is value in learning how to make or do things, and what disappoints me most about this badge and the whole series is that they don't make any effort to teach the girls how to DO anything--they are all about using crafts as a way to teach thinking skills. It will be real interesting to see the extent to which leaders actually carry through on all the discussion and the extent to which this ends up as the badge where you make a wallet and a suncatcher.
On thing I thought as a complete non-artist is that the last thing I want it someone criticizing my work. Also I'd hate doing all those sketches.
Resources Provided
VTK provides the following resources with the plans for this badge:
- Project Idea: Make a Wallet
- Words to Know: List of 16 vocabulary words and definitions
- Project Idea: Make Seed Balls
- Project Idea: Make a Suncatcher
- Project Idea: Make a Felt Animal
- Design Thinking Process: Same diagram used for Think Like an Engineer
- Making for Families--handout for all badges in this series
- Get Making with Girl Scouts--another series common handout
What do you think? Will your troop do this badge?
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