At our dance clinic, I passed out manila envelopes that had all they needed to do to earn the Bugs patch. I can't claim the credit for this as I found it on the Internet - but don't know who to credit for it! The timing of this is also great for our Botanical Gardens -- they have a butterfly exhibit that runs for almost a month!
Here is what is in their envelopes:
BUGS:
Bugs help us in lots of cool ways. Explore the world of bugs and learn more about these
little creatures that do so much
Steps
1. Draw a bug poster
2. Try a bug craft
3. See bugs in action
4. Explore bug homes
5. Take a bug field trip
Purpose: When I’ve earned this badge, I’ll know all about bugs.
Every step has three choices. Do ONE choice to complete each step.
Inspired? Do more.
Step 1: Draw a bug poster
Use one choice to help you find out more about one kind of bug. Then draw a poster of
your bug. Label its parts and answer the questions below. When it’s done, share your
poster with your Brownie friends.
All about my bug
Write on your poster:
Where your bug lives, How long it lives, What it eats, What is good about this bug, What is not so good about this bug, Who its enemies are
CHOOSE ONE:
Talk to a bug specialist in your town or community.
They might work at a museum or for a farming organization or gardening club.
OR
With an adult’s help, find websites about your bug. And look online for lots of good photos so you can see your bug in action!
OR
Read a book or watch a video about your bug. It should be a book or video about a real bug, not a cartoon.
More to Explore: Pretend you’re a Girl Scout in 1930. They had to know 50 different insects to earn their Insect Finder Badge! Can you put 10 different bugs on your poster?
Step 2: Try a bug craft
There are lots of “buggy” things you can make. Try making your own colorful or silly orsparkly bug!
CHOOSE ONE:
Make a paper-plate spider. Decorate a paper plate with markers or paint to look like the body of a spider. Draw eyes, or make them by attaching googly eyes or covering dots of glue in glitter. Cut four black pipe cleaners in half to make eight legs and attach them to the plate. Bend them to make your spider stand!
OR
Make an egg-carton caterpillar. With an adult’s help, cut a strip of six cups from an egg carton. Paint or color the cups. Poke two holes in the top of the first cup, which will be the head. From the inside of the cup, poke a pipe cleaner inside each hole and pull it through. The pipe cleaners will stick out of the top to make antennae. Draw or glue on round objects for eyes.
OR
Make your own butterfly. Use markers to decorate a coffee filter with lots of bright colors. These are the wings. Then paint and add glitter to a wooden clothespin for the body. When the pin is dry, clip it in the middle of the coffee filter to create your butterfly.
FOR MORE FUN: Make tissue-paper flowers and hang your butterfly about them for a
pretend butterfly garden.
Step 3: See bugs in action
Even though most bugs don’t live very long lives, they are very busy!
CHOOSE ONE:
Watch three bugs. Look for three different bugs in your area. They could be an ant carrying food, a beetle chewing on a leaf, and a roly-poly (sow bug) on a porch. Identify the bugs and try to find out what they are doing and why!
OR
With an adult, find an ant trail. See what happens if you put a stick in the middle of the trail. What about a little water? What about food? See what you can find that distracts the ants (without hurting them, of course!)
FOR MORE FUN: Try to follow the trail to the ants’ home.
OR
Make a bug box. See instructions below.
Make a Bug Box!
You can take a closer look at a bug in action by making a bug box. Try using it to watchgrasshoppers, centipedes, lightning bugs, or moths. Check with an adult first to make sure your bugs don’t bite!
1. Remove the lid from a cardboard shoe box. Cut a rectangle out of one of the long
sides—it should be about 6 inches long by 3 inches wide.
2. With the cutout side facing you, tape or glue on a piece of plastic wrap to create a
window. Make sure the window is tight enough that the bugs can’t escape.
3. Poke three small breathing holes (smaller than your bugs, so they won’t get out) into
each side of the box.
4. Make a home for your bugs along the bottom of the box, using materials from the
place you found them and without destroying their home. You might add grass,
twigs, small rocks, or leaves.
5. Add bugs! Be gentle so they don’t get hurt. Re-cover the box. After you’ve had an
hour to watch, carefully place the bugs back where you found them.
Step 4: Explore bug homes
It isn’t just the bugs that are cool. The places they live are fun to explore, too! Find out more about bug homes in this step.
CHOOSE ONE:
Draw a cocoon. Some bugs, like caterpillars, sleep in a cocoon. Inside, they transform into a moth or butterfly. Find out what else goes on in there. Then draw what you think it looks like inside a cocoon.
OR
Make a model of a bug house. Bugs live in all kinds of houses: hives, cocoons, tunnels, even inside wood. Make a model of what a bug house looks like.
FOR MORE FUN: Talk to your friends about how your home is the same and different from your bug house. If you could, would you live in the bug house you made?
OR
For one week, watch a spider on its web. Team up with an adult to watch it during different times of day. What does the spider work on? Does the web look any different? Is there food somewhere? Don’t touch the spider or disturb the web—some spiders can bite!
Step 5: Take a bug field trip
The best place to view creepy critters is outside where they live! Take a trip to get up close with your bug friends.
CHOOSE ONE:
Visit a farm. Farms have lots of animals and crops, so they can be a great place to see bugs. Bring a magnifying glass to see the tiniest ones. Ask the farmer why bugs can be useful to crops, and what their favorite bug on the farm is.
FOR MORE FUN: Go to a farm where they raise bees, and taste fresh honey.
OR
Take a bug walk or bug hike. See how many kinds of bugs you can find along the way. Use a magnifying glass and look on the ground and up high in branches.
FOR MORE FUN: Go with friends! See who can find the most bugs along the hike, or who can find a bug they’ve never seen before.
OR
Visit a museum, zoo, or botanical garden with a bug collection. Look at the bugs. How are they grouped? What’s the strangest bug in the collection? Some places have a live insect viewing where you can hold the bugs. You could give it a try!
Add the Badge to Your Journey
They can bring it back to the August Activity (Zoo/Picnic) and we can talk about it and present awards. (Or they can bring it to a September Meeting).
