OR NEW VERSION of earning IPP's:

• Do the one REQUIRED activity (or Sill Builder)
• Do ONE activity of your choice for each of the THREE categories (LEARN, DO, SHARE)
• Design and do ONE activity of YOUR OWN
• Create a short REFLECTION after you've completed all of the activities

NEW: IPP Breakdown Sheet
Look up individual items to see which steps it fulfills on a related IPP!

Page Two IPP Requirements

All About Birds
 

    Skill Builders

1. Have you ever wondered how birds fly? Find out about the mechanics of flight. Compare the anatomy and flight patterns of birds with the design, construction, and aerodynamics of airplanes or gliders.

2.      Birds can be identified by size, shape, color, flight patterns, vocalizations ("bird calls"), and behavior. Field marks or distinctive features of the bird such as a stripe over the eye, bars on the wing, or a bright rump patch are often used for identification purposes. Differences between male and female birds are often very dramatic. Observe and make notes about five birds in your communit

y. Use a field guide to identify each bird.

3.      Birders learn to identify birds by sound as well as sight. This is especially helpful when a bird is hidden in dense foliage or perched high in a tree. Birds are usually most vocal early in the morning and at dusk. Learn to identify five birds by their songs or call notes.

4.      Birds have fascinating life histories. Many travel great distances in yearly cycles of migration. Do a detailed study of 3 different types of birds: for example, a song-bird, a bird of prey, and a waterfowl. Include in your study vocalizations, flight patterns, nesting and feeding habits, and threats to survival. Take notes and/or draw a map tracing its migration route.

5.      Set up a bird-feeding station. Attract a variety of bids by providing different types of food, feeders, and watering devices. A trash-can lid on a post or a flowerpot saucer on the ground can be used to hold water. List and describe the birds that come to the feeding station. Note diet preferences.

6.      In addition to watching birds, many enjoyable hours may be spent capturing birds artistically. Visit an art museum, natural history museum, or wildlife art gallery in which paintings or other depictions of birds are on display, or look at illustrations of birds in field guides. Next, create an original work of art, such as a woodcarving, drawing, or painting, or take a series of photographs of birds.

Technology

1.      Most birds are watched from a distance. Practice using binoculars, an important tool for birders, until you become comfortable locating perched birds and birds in flight. Visit a store that carries binoculars. Compare the features - such as weight, design, and magnification - of several pairs of binoculars. Find out the meaning of center focusing, alignment, and field of view.

2.      Specially designed traps or mist nets are used to capture birds for banding. A captured bird is identified for age, sex, and physical condition. The bird is carefully fitted with a numbered leg band and released. Find out the name of a professional who bands birds' legs to learn about migratory routes, etc., or visit a wildlife refuge or nature center to learn about banding birds.

3.    there are approximately 800 - 900 species of birds that have been seen in North America. Serious birders keep a diary or life list of birds. Design a life list data-base or use a commercial birding software program to keep track of each species of bird you see. Record the name of the bird, date and location seen, and any other data such as the weather conditions, names of birding companions, and whether this is a rare sighting. 

4.     Serious environmental problems such as the use of pesticides and loss of habitat have been responsible for nearly destroying a variety of species, including the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, whopping crane, and California condor. Find out through research or at a bird sanctuary/habitat how captive-breeding programs have helped to restore the populations of these endangered species.

5.      A spotting scope and tripod enable the serious birder to observe birds at a greater distance. A spotting scope is an excellent tool for watching waterfowl and nesting or perched birds. Find a person who is willing to teach you to use a spotting scope in the field. Use it to focus in on at least five species of birds.

 Service Projects

1.    Loss of wildlife habitat, competition with non-native birds, and pesticides have threatened many birds. Work with a local Audubon chapter or other wildlife protection group to help restore an endangered bird species in your unit
.

2.      Introduce a group of younger Girl Scouts to birding by taking them on an early morning or late afternoon bird walk or bird-watch. Share your knowledge about ways to identify birds and how to use binoculars and field guides. Make a list of the birds seen by the group.

3.      Ornithology is the branch of zoology dealing with birds. Amateur birders have contributed to this field for many years by participating in organized bird surveys designed to count numbers of individual birds or species. Join with your local Audubon chapter or bird club to participate in a bird count or survey. Keep track of the birds you have seen.

4.      Birds need food, water, nesting places, perches, and places to hide. Develop a guide or poster with planting and feeding information for local property owners.

5.     Volunteer at a local zoo or nature center that offers opportunit

ies to work directly with birds as an assistant keeper or indirectly by educating the public about birds.

       Career Exploration

1.      Birds suffer injuries from being shot, poisoned, flying into buildings or radio towers, or even being hit by cars. Licensed wildlife rehabilitators work with animals to nurse them back to health and return them to the wild. Find out where the nearest wildlife rehabilitator might be found. Interview her about her work. If possible, work with her to restore a bird to health.

2.      Veterinarians work with sick and injured animals, including birds. Visit a local veterinarian and ask about the education and experience you would need to become a veterinarian.

3.      Investigate which colleges offer programs in ornithology, wildlife biology, wildlife management, or related fields of study. What are the admission requirements? Basic course requirements?

4.      Spend several hours shadowing an ornithologist, naturalist, or wildlife biologist at a nature center, zoo, or wildlife refuge. Learn about the training needed, hiring process, and tasks of the job.

5.     Find a local artist or wood-carver who specialized in birds. Arrange to observe her at work. Ask questions about who commissions and displays her work, what her training was, and her artistic techniques.

American Patriotism

Architecture & Environmental Design

          Skill Builders

1.   Find out about the types of drawings architects make. Select a room or space and draw it architecturally, showing all the details, such as windows, stairways, closets, etc.

2.   Freehand drawing translates mental images into pictures. Create three drawings of architectural spaces - a building from the outside, the interior of a room, and a view of the exterior as seen from the inside of a building. You may use pencil, pen, or a colored medium. Consider why these three different perspectives would be important to an architect. Share your sketches with someone.

3.   Architectural models are an important way to translate designs into three-dimensional form. They show others how a proposed building will look. Make a model of an existing structure or one of your own design. you may use materials from home such as cardboard, lumber, or wooden sticks, or you may want to use a commercially packaged model that you purchase in a store.

4.   Study your neighborhood to determine the predominant architectural styles. Compare these styles with some common architectural styles found in other parts of the country. Look at magazines, books, paintings, or illustrations of architecture for help. Do these styles reflect an adaptation to environmental conditions, locally available building materials, or cultural or spiritual beliefs?

Technology

1.   Because of scientific advances in construction materials, some homes and buildings now have features that are technological marvels.
      Windows, for example, can turn from crystal clear to frosted with the flick of a switch. Explore three innovations that are currently being tested in the construction of buildings. Next, make a list of the benefits (Lower cost, superior strengths, etc) and the drawbacks (higher cost, negative environmental impact, etc) of each item.

2.  In architecture, there is a growing concern about how construction practices affect the indoor air quality of buildings and impact upon the environment. Many products used in the construction of homes and office buildings may emit toxic gases for years, or may be obtained by means that are destructive to the land or produce toxic waste. Go to the library or call your local association of architects to find out how architects are using materials and designs to make buildings "environmentally friendly." Which materials would you use to design your own home if you were an architect?

3. Find out about computer drafting or drawing programs. Design something using one of these programs.

4. Design and build a small structure such as a birdhouse. Make sure your design has a real purpose, and monitor how it is used.

5. Landscape architects design outdoor unit
s - from plantings around office buildings and homes, to ski unit
s and golf courses. Investigate the technology that has become available in the last 10 years to facilitate the work of landscape architects.

Service Projects

1. The purpose of an environmental impact statement is to determine the effect a construction project will have on the environment before anything is built. You can determine the real impact a recent local construction project has had in your communit

y by analyzing changes it has caused in three of the following:

• Pedestrian or car traffic

• Noise or pollution levels

• Public transportation usage

• Available affordable housing

• Number or diversity of plants and animals

• Frequency of flooding

• Energy demands

Make sure you record your observations over a period of two to four weeks. How would you improve the design of the project? Share your findings with your troop, group, friends or family.

2. Identify a home repair or renovation that your family or a neighbor needs. Draw the existing conditions, then design a solution in a series of architectural drawings or sketches.

3. Take a group of younger girls on an exploration of some public spaces, such as parks and playgrounds, in their neighborhood. Help them translate their ideas for redesigning one of these sites with a crayon or pencil sketch.

4. Architects take many things into consideration when they plan their designs, including accessibility for people with disabilities. Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, all new construction must meet certain accessibility requirements. Find out if you can do an accessibility study for a campsite or program unit
in your council. Or study the accessibility of your school or a public place. Chapter 2 of the Girl Scout publication Focus on Ability: Serving Girls with Special Needs will give you guidelines on how to conduct an accessibility study. Share your results and recommendations for better accessibility with site directors.

Career Exploration

1.  Often, a portfolio is a requirement for admission to a school, for getting a job, or for entering a competition. Assemble a portfolio of your creative work thus far in your life. You may use photographs or other reproductions instead of the actual objects, which may be too large or fragile. You can include items such as a clay pot, a song, a drawing, a rug, or a piece of clothing that you made. Both the final result and the studies, sketches, and thoughts during the design process are worthy of documenting. Start your portfolio with your completed interest project products.

2.  What is a typical day in the life of an architect, urban planner, or environmental designer? Arrange to visit the office of such a professional, or job-shadower. Make notes and drawings about the experience in a journal.

3.  Select an architect to profile: for example, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray, Alvar Aalto, or Mies Van der Rohe. Prepare a presentation for your troop or group on her or his work and life. Use photographs or other visuals to show the architect's work.

4.  Interview an urban planner or environmental designer,. If  possible, arrange for one of them to visit a troop or group meeting. What advice might they offer to young people interested in these fields? What course of study would they recommend? Find out about their unit
s of specialization. For example, some planners work in waste management (garbage) and recycling. An environmental designer might work with a landscape architect or a parks department on improving or conserving a park or wildlife reserve. Ask them about specific tasks they do while on a project, as well as about the skills and training they bring to their jobs.

Artistic Crafts

     Skill Builders

1. Choose your medium. You will probably want to experiment with several types of crafts before you find one that you really enjoy. Choose from among the following crafts: leather work, macramé, crocheting, quilting, decoupage, candle making, metal-work, stained glass design, pottery, ceramics, printmaking, woodcarving, woodworking, jewelry making, flora design, basket weaving, or clothing design. When you have made a choice, do the following steps.

• Become familiar with the craft. Be able to explain the process and describe the tools needed and where you would find them.

• Make a scrapbook with pictures, articles, and samples of this craft.

• Develop at least three different designs, complete one of them.

2.  Clay is a medium that offers many possibilities for expression. From bead making to pottery, you will find a variety of possibilities for using clay creatively. Traditionally, clay work has involved firing (baking) in a kiln. Today, there are many types of clay that can be baked in a regular oven or air-dried. Learn about hand building, or learn to throw clay on a potter's wheel. Make one finished piece.

3.  Make your own woodcarving. Or try your hand at building something with wood - for example, a birdhouse.

4.  Find out some of the places available in your communit

y for crafts instruction: for example, communit

y centers or craft stores. Compare the cost of each course and find out if anyone would be willing to teach your troop or group.

Technology

1.  Choose three of the following crafts and find out about three tools used in each:

• Candle Making

• Stained glass

• Woodcarving

• Leather work

• Pottery making

    Consult artisans, crafts catalogs, and salespersons to determine the benefits and drawbacks of working with these crafts. Some factors to consider are the cost and availability of materials, and the size of the work space and special equipment you would need. Prepare a demonstration of what you learn and share it with your troop or group.

2.    The Internet has sites for crafts organizations, companies, and individuals from all over the world. It is also a place where many crafters exchange ideas and offer suggestions. Develop your own site or visit a group site to exchange information about crafts with others your age.

3.  Stenciling is popular in many countries. In America, it was used in colonial times to decorate walls, floors, furniture, and everyday objects. Find out the ways in which modern technology has changed how stencils are made and used. Experiment with stenciling on paper or cloth and then try a more advanced project, such as stenciling the back of a chair.

4.  Visit a woodworker's shop. Ask for a demonstration of such tools as a jigsaw, a plane, a router, and a finishing sander. Find out what safety precautions must be taken when using these tools.

Service Projects

1. Teach a simple craft to younger girls, making sure that the skills needed are appropriate to the age group.

2.  Make several craft items that you can donate to a nursing home, children's center, or other organization.

3. Contact local craft stores, schools, and communit

y centers to find out about courses, workshops, or seminars,. Put this information in a newsletter, flier, or brochure and distribute it to others.

4. Work with your Girl Scout troop or group to develop your own how-to craft manual. Give copies to your council, local library, or communit

y center.

Career Exploration

1.  Interview someone in your communit

y who earns part or all of her living through her craft. Find out how she got started, what she has learned, some typical aspects of her work, and what advice she would offer to someone just starting out. Or visit a crafts show, exhibit, or sale, and do the following:

•     Find out how many different media are represented in the show or fair.

• After looking at the objects on display, decide which ones you like best and why. Be able to explain the reasons for your preference to your troop or group.

• Talk to one of the artists to find out:
    -  How she got started
    -  What kind of training was required
    -  Whether she has other work that she does in addition to her craft
    -  What are the pitfalls and satisfactions of the artist/craftsperson

2.  There are many career options related to crafts besides being an artisan. These include crafts shop owner, crafts wholesaler, crafts show manager, and designer of crafts displays. Choose a crafts-related career and find out how you would pursue it.

3.  When planning to sell your crafts, it is important to know your market. Interview a crafts store owner or show manger to find out the trends in crafts and craft design in the past 10 years. What does she predict for the next decade? What are the consequences of not knowing the trends in the crafts market? How can a craftsperson keep up with these trends?

4.  Occupational therapists help people with illnesses or disabilities improve their coordination and fine-motor skills. They also design devices to help improve daily living skills. Ask an occupational therapist to explain or demonstrate how crafts activities might be used in her job.

Backpacking

     Skill Builders (the 2 starred Skill Builders are required activities)

  1. Make a list of equipment and clothing needed for a back-packing trip. Add specialized items to this list for the following environments: desert, mountain, and beach. Learn ways to take care of yourself by the use of appropriate clothing, food, and water. To learn ways to reduce the size and weight of the items you carry, talk with an experienced backpacker or read a book about lightweight backpacking. Pages 163 - 164 in Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting will be helpful.

* 2. Get into shape from the ground up. Choose and break in hiking shoes or boots appropriate to terrain you will be hiking on. Learn proper foot care, including what socks to wear. Develop a plan for conditioning your legs and increasing cardiovascular strength to meet the demands of the terrain and altitude. Take a practice hike with your backpack loaded and make any needed adjustments. Learn to spot signs of fatigue and dehydration and what you can do to avoid them. See pages 34, 39, and 159 - 160 in Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting.

  3.  Learn the first-aid treatment for burns, cuts, blisters, sunburn, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, hypothermia, shock, insect stings, ticks, contact with poisonous plants, and a bite by any poisonous animal common to the unit
s where you plan to travel. Assemble a light-weight first-aid kit. Review how you can put a first-aid plan into action. See pages 83-94 in Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting, and complete the activities in each section.

  4.  Learn to use a compass and read a topographical map. Read pages 103 - 111 in Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting or pages 123 - 124 in the Cadette Girl Scout handbook. Then trace out a hiking route on a topographical map. Describe what you would see along the way by visualizing the terrain from the map symbols.

* 5. Put your minimal impact skills to the test by planning and carrying out a backpacking trip of at least two days. Follow Safety-Wise guidelines, obtaining permission for each trip and the unit
where you plan to camp. Submit a written plan that describes the route, emergency procedures, group safety rules, equipment, menus, and names of participants. Develop a plan for building teamwork and sharing leadership among the individuals going on each trip. Before taking the first trip:

•     Be able to explain why a group of four to ten people is most appropriate in a backcountry setting.

• Know ways to avoid and prevent encounters with wildlife when on the trail or when storing food overnight.

• Know how to avoid insect and tick bites.

     Upon your return, evaluate the trip. Make appropriate changes in procedures, teamwork strategies, and gear before your next outing.

Technology

1. Visit an outdoor store to find out about the variety of back-packs and frames available. Learn about the materials and design components of internal and external frame back-packs. Try on a pack that adjust to fit you. Make sure that it includes padded shoulder straps and a hip belt. Compare the kinds of sleeping bags and tents on the market, and ask for recommendations for ones most appropriate for the type of backpacking that you plan to do.

2. Learn about the most common water pollutants in the unit
where you will be hiking. Find out about methods of purifying water on trips to the backcountry, including at least one "high-tech" way. Practice purifying water by using one method.

3. Compare backpacking stoves operated by butane, propane, blended fuel (propane and butane), and gasoline. Compare ease of use, weight of stoves, cooking times, suitability for different altitudes, and recommended temperature range. Arrange to try out at least two different kinds of stoves. Which stove(s) would be best for general use? Which would work best when back-packing at high altitude or in cold weather? See pages 49 - 50 in Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting.

4. Plan the food for at least one backpacking trip. Learn about lightweight foods as well as those that pack best and last without refrigeration. What's the difference between freeze-dried and dehydrated foods? With your group, consider the cost and size per serving, the efficiency of the packaging, and which foods will provide the maximum energy. If needed, repackage food to eliminate excess weight.

5. On the Internet, search for information on backpacking, hiking, or outdoor adventures. Look for Web sites with backcountry weather reports, maps, or information on wilderness unit
s. If possible, use the Web to help plan a trip.

6> Draw your own design for a piece of equipment or clothing that would be useful on a back-packing trip or improve on  a current mode. If possible, construct and use it on a trip.

Service Projects

1. Teach younger girls skills such as campsite selection, safe use of a backpacking stove, equipment selection, proper backcountry hygiene, food selection and repackaging.

2. Join a trail maintenance or campsite cleanup effort.

3. Contact a search and rescue group. Train to become a member of a search and rescue team.

4. Work with an environmental organization to complete such tasks as replacing natural resources, collecting and planting native seeds, and protecting wilderness and park unit
s.

Career Exploration

1. Visit a store that sells camping and backpacking equipment. Learn about job opportunit

ies in this retail business. Ask someone what kinds of skills and experience are necessary for different levels of jobs.

2. Shadow a wildlife biologist, geologist, botanist, or other natural resource professionals for a day. Or interview at least two people who work in outdoor recreation. Find out what they do in their jobs, what challenges they enjoy and don't enjoy. Ask them to trace their career paths for you.

3. Contact by phone or in writing two manufactures of camping of camping and backpacking equipment for information about careers in designing and manufacturing outdoor equipment.

4. Talk with trip leaders or outfitters of various high adventure programs such as backpacking, white-water rafting, or horseback packing. Ask questions about what they must do to plan trios, provide meals, and offer a safe but challenging program. What kinds of training, permits, and insurance are necessary to run an adventure-based business?

5.  Investigate career opportunit

ies related to backpacking such as working with recreational, outdoor, or environmental clubs and organizations.

Build A Better Future
 

     Skill Builders

1. Learn about some of the things engineers must consider when designing amusement park rides, including how electrical circuits are used in bumper cars, what the safest maximum speed for a carousel is, and how many people can ride a roller coaster in an hour. Then, with the guidance of a science teacher, engineer, or mentor, design your own ride. If possible, construct a model. Amusement parks often have kits available for school groups).

2. Study at least two different types of blueprints that are created in the design of a building; floor layout; diagrams of electrical, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning unit

s, and specifications for fire protection, plumbing, etc.

3. Tour a manufacturing plant. Find out what types of machines are used in the manufacturing process and why, and what measures are taken to improve product safety, productivity, and quality.

4. Compare several brands of one mechanical product. Look for differences in their external design and features. Which brand looks easiest to use and why? Which is the most attractive? Why? Now design your own version of a product, making it both practical and artistically appealing.

5. Select one item that is recyclable, such as paper, plastic, glass, or metal, and find out how it is converted into a new product. Draw a simple diagram of the steps involved. Try to name two or three more products into which this item can be recycled. Where and how is this done? find out if chemicals or heat must be used for the recycling process.

Technology

1. Learn about computer-aided design (CAD) programs. Observe a demonstration of how CAD is used to design items. Then create your own design using CAD. (CAD programs can be found in local industries, high schools, or colleges.)

2. Make a list of 8 - 10 items that did not exist 25 years ago, such as cellular phones or CD players. Find out how three of the items work today and imagine how they might look in the future. Improve upon their function and design.

3. Find out about five devices used to assist people with disabilities, describing how they work and hw they improve the person's life. Hospital rehabilitation departments, rehabilitation centers, or organizations focusing on particular disabilities provide good information. Brainstorm ways in which devices are adapted, or design a device to help someone who has a particular disability perform a function that is difficult for her.

4. Learn about the infrastructure in your communit

y, such as traffic lights or the water system. Make an in-depth investigation of one communit

y. Describe the technology needed to ensure continued safety and efficient service to the public.

5. Investigate how three changes in car design have enhanced safety in the past 10 years.

Service Projects

1. Volunteer at a local science center that highlights technology. Assist in building an exhibit during a special event or act as an exhibit interpreter.

2. Plan or help facilitate an "engineering" activity day with hands-on projects for younger girls. Address at least three different unit
s of engineering. This might be in conjunction with National Engineering Week (February).

3. Spend a day volunteering in construction or in improving the environment through a local group effort. Perhaps you can paint, garden, help with minor repairs, or assist with building something at camp or in your communit

y. Learn to use basic tools of construction, plumbing, or electrical work under the guidance of a skilled and knowledgably mentor. See Safety-Wise for recommended safety precautions.

4. Plan an exhibit of engineering field for your school, council, or communit

y, perhaps for a career day. Invite women engineers to speak and exhibit. Include a design contest or hands-on activities.

Career Exploration

1. Learn about careers in various fields of engineering by using your local library, by writing to engineering societies or to the Junior Engineering Technical Society (under the National Society of Professional Engineers), or by using the Internet to do additional research. Find out the requirements for training for mechanical, electrical, or civil engineers.

2. Shadow an engineer for a day. Ask her what tools she uses in her job. What is most and least satisfying about her job? What challenges does she encounter and how does she overcome them in her work? Present what you have learned in a class discussion or meeting of your troop or group or club. Or invite the engineer to make a presentation.

3. Find out about the engineer's contribution to advancing medical technology in the design of implants, CAT scans, etc.

4. Use a computer simulation program to practice making the kind of decisions engineers make.

Camping

     Skill Builders

1.  Learn how to select a site and a route for a camping trip appropriate to the skills of your troop or group. Determine how your group can minimize its impact on a site by considering the following:

• Time of year and the size of the group.

• Clothing and equipment.

• Food preparation and use of portable cooking stoves.

• Camping and traveling on durable surfaces.

• Proper disposal methods and plans to pack out waste and trash.

• Leaving the site in a natural condition.

2.  Collect 10 recipes for outdoor meals that will minimize food preparation time and the use of cooking fuel. Be careful to select foods that will not spoil. For a three0day6 camping trip, plan a well0balanced menu. Learn the proper procedures for setting up, fueling, and cooking on the stove you will be using. Show how to keep food and cooking supplies safely away from animals.

3.  Develop emergency procedures for a camping trip.. Know what to do in case of fire, flood, and injured or lost campers. Learn the procedures to follow if you become separated from your group. Show that you can set up and recognize international distress signals. Demonstrate how to be prepared for weather emergencies and find out about methods for obtaining water and shelter. Assemble a first-aid kit. Know how to treat for shock, bleeding, sprains, burns, bites, hypothermia, frostbite, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke.

4.  Demonstrate two ways to build group readiness and spirit for a camping trip. Keep in touch with the feelings that come from living and working together in the outdoors by writing a song or poem, recording your thoughts in a journal, or sharing them with a friend or at a Girl Scouts' Own ceremony.

5.  Plan a trip to challenge your skills. Create maps, plans, and checklists. Backpack, bicycle, ride horseback, canoe, sail, ski cross-country, or find some new, exciting way to get to your campsite (perhaps an extended scavenger hunt or mystery ride).

Technology

1. Learn to use a base plate compass and to read a topographical map. Sketch a map of your neighborhood or camp unit
from field notes you have taken. Measure the length of your pace and show that you can judge distance. Demonstrate your navigational ability by planning and, with an adult, co-leading a hike for a group.

2.  Be prepared for changing weather conditions. Show that you understand the significance of a barometer reading, wind direction and speed, and patterns of weather movements typical of your region. Before leaving, check the current forecast to make sure you have the proper clothing and equipment. Record weather observations for two days before your trip and make your own weather predication. Record the conditions during the trip and compare them with your predication.

3.  Find out about new types of materials and fibers used to create camping equipment. What makes something waterproof? Or lightweight? Heat or cold resistant? Visit a local outdoor store and examine the latest products. Read through catalogs and comparison shop for several items. Find out about the types of insulation in sleeping bags and which is best for you r unit
and the type of trip you are planning.

4. Surf the Internet and find out which camping organizations and clubs are represented in cyber-space. Do a Web search and find sites on camping gear, travel destinations, and safe outdoor practices and minimal impact (for the last topic, see the National Outdoor Leadership School's Web site).

Service Projects

1.  Look into how to make a camping experience more accessible to people with disabilities. Together with your troop leader, you may wish to consult Focus on Ability: Serving Girls with Special Needs. Then, using the assessment tools from the book, determine which of your campsites are most suitable for people with disabilities, and how you can improve any existing conditions at them.

2.  Offer your service to maintain a hiking or nature trail. Or, create a new trail at a local Girl Scout camp or park. Learn the proper ways to cut unwanted growth, control erosion, and divert water off the trail.

3.  Teach camping skills such as selecting proper equipment, meal planning, or pitching a tent, to a group of younger Girl Scouts. Visit their troop meeting, demonstrate the skills, and help them practice.

4.  Volunteer to plan and conduct a weekend compare, a habitat improvement project, or an outdoor skills day. Or collaborate on a camping-related service project with another group.

Career Exploration

1.  Learn about jobs in the outdoors such as lifeguard, camp counselor, camp director, camp administrator, program specialist, site manager, or food services manager in the recreation industry. Interview someone who has one of these jobs and report back to your troop or group on your findings.

2.  Look through several magazines about camping and out-door activities. Use the ideas to make a list of outdoor careers. Find out about the skills, education, and experience needed for three of the careers you listed.

3. Interview someone with a career related to safeguarding the environment. What does it take to be an educator, a lawyer, an engineer, a lobbyist, or a scientist devoted to environmental issues?

4. Come up with an idea to start your own business in the unit
of outdoor recreation. For example, some people have started up outdoor-clothes and equipment catalog businesses or ecotourism companies. What product or service could you sell? What would you do to make sure your business could contribute to preserving the environment and still make money for you.

Car Sense

       Skill Builders

1.      Check the engine oil, automatic transmission fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid in several vehicles. Find out how often the following procedures should be done on a vehicle and obtain some cost estimates for each:

·        Change oil and automatic transmission fluid

·        Reline brakes

·        Realign wheels and balance tires

·        Replace belts, steering lines, and hoses

·        Replace damaged or loose parts in exhaust system

·        Replace shock absorbers

2.      With an adult, change the oil and oil filter on a vehicle. Dispose of or recycle the old oil using an ecologically sound method.

3.      Check the tire pressure with a gauge. Observe a tire being changed by an experienced adult. Make a list of the steps taken. With adult supervision, follow the steps you have outlined and change a tire on a car.

4.      Find out what the procedures are in your state for obtaining a learner’s permit and a driver’s license. What driver’s education courses are available? Also find out what’s involved in registering a vehicle. Visit the motor vehicle department and get copies of forms, information and regulations.

5.      Visit a car dealership with an adult and evaluate the costs, options, and availability of two different types of cars, both new and used. Find out about financing: where you can borrow money and at what rates, and the costs of leasing a car.

6.      Read pages 122 – 123 in “A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts”. Using the information provided, assemble a vehicle emergency tool kit for the car you will be driving.

7.      Contact different insurance companies and find out what types of coverage are required by your state. Find out how your driving and choice of car affect your insurance rate. Investigate the legal liabilities of a driver who is uninsured or underinsured.

Technology

1.      Find out how an anti-lock braking system (ABS) works and how it differs from traditional braking systems. Find out how ABS affects your driving in emergency situations and inclement weather.

2.      How does the rising number of automobiles on the road affect the environment? Survey an automobile for its energy use. Does it use gas economically or not? Has the engine been tuned recently? Do the tires have the proper inflation? Are the air and oil filters clean? Find out about driving habits that save gas. Talk to a car owner, mechanic, or car dealer about energy conservation in the use and maintenance of cars. What has the auto industry been doing to curtail air pollution and make cars more efficient in their use of gas?

3.      Air bags have recently become a standard safety feature. Locate the air bags in a car. Read the owner’s manual and discover the strengths and limitations of air bags, as well as any dangers. Identify five safety rules to follow when operating a vehicle that has air bags. Share that information with two other drivers.

4.      Form car ignitions to theft detection, cars are becoming more and more computerized. Describe in what ways cars are computerized. What does that mean for mechanics and services? What are the implications for drivers and car owners? Talk with someone who serviced cars before and after computers were installed. Discover the advantages and disadvantages of these changes.

5.      Find information about purchasing a car by browsing through the Internet. Explore purchasing and/or least two vehicles of your choice, used or new. Use the Internet to compare the cost, safety, resale value, size, storage space, and options such as air conditioning, automatic transmission, and anti-lock brakes.

6.      Compute the cost of running a car for a year. Include the cost of gasoline, insurance, registration, parking, taxes, and maintenance. Compare this with the cost of using public transportation. Is the convenience of a car worth the expense?

 Service Projects

1.      Volunteer at a vehicle safety event or workshop emphasizing safety through preventive maintenance. Activities might include inspecting tires, changing wiper blades, and checking car fluids.

2.      Create a car safety campaign focusing on one or more of the following topics: use of safety belts; use of air bags; obscured vision; behavior during and following an accident or breakdown; drunk driving. Display the information in two prominent unit
s of your town, or ask the local newspaper or schools to print the information.

3.      Using the poem “Young and Dumb” on page 123 and the information on pages 47 – 48 in A Resource Book For Senior Girl Scouts, run a discussion group with other teens about driving under the influence. Discuss the severity of the issue and steps you can take to avoid riding with a drunk driver. Role-play what to do if you think your friend is under the influence and is about to drive.

4.      Volunteer with a car-based communit

y service: for example, one that delivers groceries or meals to the homebound or takes library books to isolated communit

ies or schools.

       Career Exploration

1.      Interview a mechanic, car service manager, or car assembler. Find out what factors led to choosing that career, what school training courses, or on-the-job experiences prepared them for this work.

2.      Prepare a cartoon with the theme “Teaching novices to drive”. What skills are most critical to becoming a good driving instructor?

3.      Interview a highway patrol officer or traffic enforcement officer. Ask about traffic laws and the most common violations for the unit
. What steps does one take to become a highway patrol or a traffic enforcement officer? How do they handle motorists who have been stopped for driving while intoxicated or for speed violations? How often do teenagers commit these types of violations? How often are they involved as victims?

4.      Tour an auto design or assembly plant. Discover what goes into the designing and/or assembling of an automobile. Ask about future occupations and trends in the auto industry.

Child Care

 Skill Builders 

1.      Pick a particular developmental level, such as infancy, childhood, or adolescence, and learn about either the physical, emotional, intellectual, or social growth that takes place during that stage.

2.      Learn how to care for children in an emergency situation. Take a course such as fire safety, lifesaving, or baby sitting at your local Girl Scout council, the American Red Cross, or your local fire department. Share your information with at least three friends.

3.      Become familiar with local, state, and federal laws that protect children. Review and clip related articles from newspapers and magazines. Hold a discussion, debate, or lecture on a topic of interest such as children’s television, discipline, sibling rivalry, or fostering creativity. Invite people interested in child are to attend.

4.      What were you like when you were a baby? When you were two, three, or four years old? When you started school? What do you remember about yourself? Talk to people who knew you at different ages. Do they have pictures of you, stories about you, information about your health, where you lived, or who took care of you? Ask yourself, “What are those things in my life that make me the special person I am today?” Record what you find in a story about yourself, a poem, a song, a tape recording, a diary, a play, or a picture.

5.      Keep a file of games, songs, finger plays, and stories that children like. Include such things as recipes for play dough and finger paints. Talk to parents, teachers, day-care workers, or librarians for suggestions. Keep adding to your file and use these ideas when you take care of your own younger brothers or sisters, baby-sit, or do volunteer work with children.

       Technology

1.      Visit a computer store and find out about software and video games for children. Focus on resources for a specific age group. Evaluate the software. Some key questions to consider:

·        Are the graphics exciting for the child?

·        Are the activities fun? Are the activities designed to teach or merely entertain?

·        If the video or software is designed to be educational, is there a better way to learn the subject?

·        Do the images send negative messages?

2.      Visit a store where educational toys and games are sold. What is the educational value of some of the items? Write down the names of two or three items you would recommend for a child of a certain age. Then, observe a child at play in one of the following age groups: birth to two years, three to five years, six to ten years. Do you still agree with the choices you made in the store? If not, adjust your choices to accommodate what you have learned. Based on your findings, make recommendations about age-appropriate toys to a child’s family.

3.      Compare two types of toys that a child might typically use today with similar toys available 20 or more years ago. Have the toys changed because of technological advances?

4.      Familiarize yourself with some toys and games available for children. With that in mind, design your own game or toy for a specific age group. Or modify one already on the market. Present your toy (actual or model) to an adult who spends time with children of that age group. Ask the adult to critique your design.

5.      Create television viewing guidelines for your family or a family with young children. Create a time sheet to monitor the number of viewing hours, a tip sheet suggesting appropriate programs for children of particular ages, and a list of programs to avoid viewing.
 

       Service Projects

1.      Work with a local school, religious center, library, or other site where parents and children gather. Volunteer to organize a child-care event or program. Determine what your responsibilities will be for example, leading activities or registration.

2.      Determine a service you can provide for a local day-care or after-school facility. Arrange a meeting with the director to find out which service or resource is needed. You might organize a toy drive to provide new or slightly used toys and games for the facility, or volunteer to read stories to the children. Determine your goals, and work on a plan for reaching them. Recruit others to help you with the plan.

3.      Become involved in tutoring a student after school. For example, you can devise a “home-work help” program to use at home with a younger sibling. Keep a note-book or log of the skills you are emphasizing and of your student’s progress. Share it with the parents or guardians.

4.      Create a “baby-sitter’s club” with girls in your troop or with friends. Advertise your group’s services in a brochure. Or create a newsletter for the club. The baby-sitter’s newsletter can include such features as do’s and don’ts while baby sitting and first-aid tips. Meet regularly with other baby sitters to exchange ideas and tips.

5.      Where can children in your communit

y play and have fun? Locate the playgrounds and other recreational facilities in your unit
. Find out what ages can use them. Are they safe? What equipment do they provide? Create a recreation guidebook to share in your communit

y.
 

      Career Exploration

1.      Discover how many colleges or agencies in your unit
offer courses for day-care providers. Contact a local child-care referral agency or college and learn what you need to do to become a professional day-care provider. Find out what courses you need to take, if any, for certification. Visit a college that offers day care and talk with the students/child-care providers about their work experiences.

2.      Learn from a child-care provider, teacher, or parent the special needs of caring for a child with a disability. Read the poem “Building Your Character Up with Down’s” on page 67 of the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook. Describe the poet’s relationship with her brother. How has her brother influenced her personal goals?

3.      Invite four professionals who work with children, such as a pediatric dentist, nurse, teacher, psychologist, or pediatrician, to speak at a troop or group meeting about their work. How does each professional help and work with parents and with children? Ask questions about their training and experience.

4.      Interview a mother who works for pay outside the home full-time, one who works for pay outside the home part-time, and one who does not work outside the home. Find out their child-care arrangements. What are the roles played in child-rearing by fathers, grandparents, other family members, and professional child-care workers? What did the mothers tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of each arrangement?

Collecting

     Skill Builders

1. Start a collection. Use your current interests as a starting point or, if you already have a collection going, add to it. Find at least five items that are of interest. If you love a particular sport, for example, you might collect the caps, posters, or pennants of your favorite teams.

2. Find a way to use or display your collection. Colored beads or shells, for example, could be laid out artistically or made into beautiful jewelry. Postcards can be arranged to make a colorful collage. You could photograph your collection. Describe your collection to a group of younger girls. Or display your project at your school or at a troop or group meeting.

3. Read catalogs, magazines, and books on collecting to expand your knowledge. Visit stores, garage sales, street fairs, and collectors conventions in your unit
.

4. Search through closets at home or your attic for interesting objects. Decide on a theme and put together a display showcasing your wares.

5. What do you do if your collection has grown too large? Why not donate all or part of it to a museum, library, school, or communit

y center? Photograph and list all the items. Write a brief description of each item.

6. Begin a collection of Girl Scout memorabilia: for example, pins, badges, guides, uniforms, and photographs. Did you know that the U.S. postal Service has issued three Girl Scout commemorative stamps? See if you can find them. You may also want to write to GSUSA, and obtain information about the National Historic Preservation Center.

Technology

1. Some collections must be stored under special conditions. in order to preserve early Girl Scout documents, for example, the archivist at the Girl Scout's' National Historic Preservation Center must keep them in a specially designed, temperature-controlled room. Does your collection need special treatment? Develop a storage system to properly preserve your  collection.

2. Some collections start by accident. You find  fascinating stone on a camping trip and later learn that it is a rare mineral. On your next outing you keep an eye out for other fins. Although many archaeologist have made major discoveries in much the same way, they now have new technology to assist them. Find out how computers, satellites, magnetic imaging, and sound waves are helping the modern "Indiana Joans".

3. Find out some ways objects are dated: for example, carbon-dating for fossil remains. Experts must sift through different types of clues - it's like trying to solve a mystery. What is needed to date your collectibles?

4. Find out the methods used to detect forgeries, fakes, or imitations of valuable items.

Service Projects

1. Organize a flew market for your troop or group. This could be a money-earning project. You can sell items collected and donated  by you and your fellow troop members.

2. Some of the things accumulated over the years may benefit someone else. Clothes that no longer fit could go to a homeless shelter, old magazines to a library, and outgrown games and toys to children in a hospital. Take an inventory of your possessions and arrange to give some of them away.

3. Offer to help your local council catalog and preserve Girl Scout artifacts.

4. Volunteer your services at a local museum, historical society, or other center that has a collection. Find out how the collections are built and maintained.

5. Start a collectors' club for younger girls. Show them your collection and take them to exhibits in museums or elsewhere, if possible. Help them as a group to begin a collection.

Career Exploration

1. With your friends, brainstorm a list of professions in which people collect things or care for collectibles. Select one profession to learn more about, or a professional to shadow.

2. Work with an antiques store owner or flea market dealer for several hours. Ask her what makes something an antique and how the value of antique furniture, jewelry, artwork, and other items are appraised. Find out about her educational background and unit
of expertise.

3. Curators arrange art exhibits for museums. Arrange to meet with or interview a curator or find out how she goes about acquiring artwork.

4. Libraries must continually add to their collections of books. Interview a librarian to find out how she decides on which books to add to a collection. How does she keep track of all the books in the collection? How are valuable books and manuscripts preserved?

Computers in Everyday Life
 

Conflict Resolution

     Skill Builders

1. Read and do the activities on pages 76-81 in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook, or read pages 79-85 in A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts and identify five techniques for resolving conflict. Give examples of how three of these techniques are used in the "real world".

2. Keep a journal for two weeks and record all of your conflicts with other people Note how you handled each conflict and whether or not it was resolved. Do you see a pattern? For example, did you use confrontation, avoidance, or compromise? What other techniques might you try in the future?

3. With  a group of four to six people, carry out the following active listening exercises. Have participants take turns as group facilitators, recorders, and observers.

• Have two people simultaneously talk about a topic for three minutes, without regard to what the other person is saying.
  Question for participants: What does it feel like to talk to someone who isn't' listening?

• Have one participant spend three minutes talking about something important to her while another participant disagrees or responds negatively.
  Question for participants: If someone else negative or disagrees with you, what do you do? What are three other ways to change the direction of the conversation?

• For three minutes, have one participant try to convince another of a particular point of view. While one is talking, have the other participant close her eyes or turn her back to demonstrate her lack of interest.
  Question for participants: What role does body language play in active listening?

4. Respecting the values of other people improves relationships and communication. Read "Your Values" on pages 56-57 of the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook, or read "Values and Conflict" on page 81 of A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts. Rate the values on the chart below according to their importance in your life. Compare your outcomes with those of a friend:

5. In the world of competitive sports, fair play is the ideal. Yet cursing at, shoving, and bullying opponents often occur. With friends, attend or watch on television several different sports events. Note the athletes' behavior. After the events, address the following questions:

• Did you witness fair or unfair conduct? What kind?

• Were certain sports more likely than others to have athletes engage in foul play?

• What methods of conflict resolution did the referees, umpires, and other sports officials use?

Technology

1. In sports, players and referees frequently disagree about calls. How does the use of instant replays facilitate the resolution of these disputes? What techniques were used before instant replay was available?

2. Watch or play several video or computer games. Which ones seem too violent? Think of ways to make them less violent and still interesting. Write to the manufacturer with your suggestions.

3. What messaged do television shows, music videos, and print and broadcast ads give about resolving conflict? View two or three of your favorite television shows. Are these shows realistic in portraying conflict and its resolution? Rewrite the ending of a show, portraying a better way to resolve conflict.

4. Watch the evening news or read a daily newspaper for three days in a row, paying particular attention to opinions about global, social, and political conflicts. How do the opinions of influential people alter our perceptions of conflict? How do inflammatory headlines and round-the-clock broadcast coverage of conflicts affect our viewpoints?

Service Projects

1. Use a mock court to mediate or resolve a dispute. You could use a real situation or create one that concerns issues of interest for you and your friends. Arrives at a resolution that meets the interest of both parties.

2. Learn to officiate your favorite sport. You can visit the library or a bookstore for a book on the sport and also ask a coach at your school for help. Plan ahead of time how you will deal with conflicts over questionable calls, fighting between players, etc. Then serve as an official in a sports event in your communit

y.

3. Introduce a group of younger children to the concept of conflict resolution. Show them how to express hurt or angry feelings in a non threatening way, how to listen to another person without judging or criticizing, or other resolution skills.

4. Learn about peer mediation strategies and then set up a peer mediation program in your school or communit

y.

Career Exploration

1. Make a list of professionals whose jobs require skills in conflict resolution. Pick one profession or occupation to learn more about by arranging to speak with someone in that field.

2. Professional mediators help settle disputes between different parties. Interview a professional mediator in your communit

y. Find out what skills they use to help opposing parties find mutually satisfying solutions.

3. Obtain information about the role that unit

ed Nations delegates, ambassadors, and diplomats play in solving international conflicts.

4. Interview people in three different jobs to find out how they resolve conflicts in he workplace.

Cookies & Dough

 Skill Builders

1.      To hone your marketing skills, write a 30 or 60 second television or radio commercial for this year’s Girl Scout cookie verities. Or create a public service announcement (PSA) on the benefits of cookie sales for Girl Scout activities, projects, and trips.

2.      Choose an activity that your group or troop would like to do, research the expenses involved (including things like admission fees, transportation, food) and then figure out how many boxes of cookies you would need to sell to finance the project. Read page 44 in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook or pages 120 – 121 in A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts to find out how to create a budget.

3.      Design a poster or flier for your cookie campaign that you could post at local stores, businesses, religious institutions, etc.

4.      Brainstorm 10 new locations in your communit

y for selling cookies – for example, at train stations, parades, tag sales, malls. Then, narrow down your choices by conducting an informal “test.” Keep tabs on the numbers of sales made in each of these locations over the course of one week.

5.      Research the history of Girl Scout cookie production and sales. Then, with your troop, recreate some of the old ad campaigns for fun. Could they still generate sales today? Take a poll.

6.      One of the ways to ensure successful product sales is to develop a marketing plan. Do a market survey of your communit

y to determine the ages and occupations of those who buy certain kinds of cookies and use the results to help in your sales efforts.

7.      Selling cookies requires skills in unit
s such as customer service, public speaking, and perseverance. Role-play different scenarios that might occur during the sale. You might want to include the customer who is cranky, obnoxious, or very inquisitive.

8.     Create a press kit to send to media outlets and places where cookies are sold. Include information on Girl Scouting, the purpose of the cookie campaign, a current council newsletter or list of projects and activities for girls, and a glossy flier of the cookie order form.
 

 Technology

1.      Surf the Internet for marketing ideas for food products. Download the information for your troop or group’s cookie campaign.

2.      Survey at least 10 people for their favorite cookies and their reasons. On your computer or by hand, make a bar graph or chart showing the results, and interpret them.

3.      Study the design of a Girl Scout cookie box. How does it protect the product? How is it appealing? Look at the colors, print styles, artwork, or photography. Can you list five things the design says about Girl Scouting?

4.      Prepare a spreadsheet that will help you keep track of your troop, group, or council’s cookie sales and the profits. Use graph paper or a computer program.

5.      Start a “cookies coast-to-coast newsletter. Distribute it to your friends, family or troop members via e-mail.
 

       Service Projects

1.      Develop a cookie board game for Brownie Girl Scouts that will teach them skills like counting, matching, and following rules. Hold an informal contest to come up with a great name for the game.

2.      Hold a cookie-tasting party at a senior citizen’s facility, child-care center, or homeless shelter.

3.      Swap sales techniques with another troop or group.

4.      Recycle cookie boxes into an art project you have designed, constructed, and decorated. Or create something functional like a small toolbox or tissue holder.

5.      Send than-you notes to major supporters or helpers of your cookie campaign and share with them one project that came about as a result of the cookie sales.

6.      Create a poster for a younger troop promoting the benefits of a healthy beverage (such as milk or juice) to go with their cookie snack.
 

      Career Exploration

1.      Examine different careers in the food industry. Don’t forget jobs like those in marketing, sales, photography, and advertising, including the graphic arts and copy writing. Interview a professional in at least two of these fields. Ask about the job’s responsibilities, education requirements or training, and benefits.

2.      Be an entrepreneur and start your own business selling a product or service that you think will appeal to a specific group; for example, weekend baby-sitting services or a lemonade and cookie stand. Read about one Girl Scout’s experiences with setting up her own business on pages 97 and 98 of the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook. Learn how to create a budget.

3.      Get some writing tips from a local reporter, freelance writer, or teacher, and then write a feature story about your cookie campaign for the council newsletter.

4.      Arrange a factory tour for a food product and see what is involved in the making and packaging of that item. Share what you have learned with your Girl Scout troop or group, or others.

Creative Cooking

     Skill Builders

1.  Become familiar with the unit

ed Sates Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Pyramid or Vegetarian Food Pyramid. You can write to the USDA in Washington, D.C. or find this information in a nutrition textbook. See also pages 60-62 in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook,. Compare your own daily diet to the dietary recommendations of the USDA models. Is your diet lacking in some nutrients? If so, what changes would you make?

2.  Learn how to select the freshest and most healthful foods at the store - fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, eggs, prepared food, etc. Check the labels to find food that is low in salt, low in fat, and low in chemical additives. Look for color and firmness in fruits and vegetables.

3.  Find a food, canned or fresh, that is not native to your unit
. Find out what region of the US or other country it is from, and where and how it is produced. Use this food as an ingredient in the preparation of two different recipes.

4.  Go to the cookware section of a store and familiarize yourself with the tools of the trade. When would you use such items as a mortar and pestle, peelers and choppers, mashers and ricers, spatulas and other "flippers", knives, food processors, juicers, bread makers, pressure cookers, and various pots and pans? What is the difference in the cost of items designed to do the same thing (Knives, choppers, and food processors, for example)? Is the extra cost worth it?

5.  Choose a recipe that can be easily prepared while camping or hiking. Review the information on this topic in the Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting. Test that recipe while hiking or camping.

6.  Pick a cuisine (Mexican, Caribbean, Indian, vegetarian, etc) and prepare two meals using recipes that include appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Familiarize yourself with the basic ingredients and seasonings of the cuisine you choose.

7.  Adapt a standard recipe for someone with special dietary needs: low fat, low salt, low sugar, lactose intolerant, vegetarian, etc.

Technology

1.  Look at the technology used in cooking. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of different heat sources: electric or gas stoves, microwave ovens, pressure cookers, grills, crock pots. Name two foods that cook best in each of these.

2.  There is a lot of chemistry behind many cooking tips and recipe directions. Questions to consider: what items serve as thickeners in a recipe? As leavening? What would happen when baking a cake if you left out or changed one ingredient? For instance, lemon juice will curdle milk. Take a recipe and substitute similar ingredients such as currants instead of raisins, or walnuts instead of almonds. Does the substitution improve the recipe, or not? How about the texture?

3.  Visit the Web site of a cooking school or food company. Compare the recipes that you find with those that appear in older cookbooks. What has changed? How do these changes reflect the eating and health habits of today's consumers?

4.  New scientific discoveries have brought a lot of change to cooking, from how we create and store food to how we cook it. Investigate a new procedure that affects food in some way such as irradiated food, genetically engineered food, plants grown by hydroponics, or freeze drying. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of two such foods to your troop or group.

Service Projects

1.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen for at least two weeks for several hours a week. Find out how food is prepared and served for a large number of people.

2.  Organize a basic cooking class for a communit

y center or homeless shelter with some friends.

3.  Organize a food drive for a local shelter. Consult the proper nutritional guidelines or a professional dietitian for a list of recommended foods.

4. Work with a local service that helps provide nutritious meals to people who cannot leave home. Help prepare at least three different meals. Make sure your meal meets the dietary needs of these homebound people.

5.  Using the Food Pyramid or other guidelines, evaluate the food service in a local facility you use (school, camp, or activity center). Discuss your evaluation with the personnel in charge. Offer alternative food suggestions and your reasons for them.

6.  Plan a menu for a full, festive meal. Cook and serve it to a group as a celebration of a cultural heritage, a holiday, or other event.

Career Exploration

1.  Interview a food critic at your local newspaper. Ask about her experience, educations, and work history. Or read several newspaper restaurant reviews. Then, write two reviews of popular restaurants in your unit
.

2.  Find out how institutional cooking differs from restaurant cuisine or home-cooked food. Take a poll in your school cafeteria and ask people what they like / don't like about school lunches. See if you can come up with one or two suggestions based on the poll to improve the choices or quality of the school lunches. Share them with school personnel.

3.  Visit a local cooking class or culinary school. Talk to an administrator or instructor about the types of jobs their students are prepared for.

4.  Arrange to job-shadow a baker, chef, caterer, pizza-maker, etc. Write down the skills and techniques that you've observed, as well as lifestyle pros and cons: for example, flexible hours, late night hours, etc.

5.  Get a part-time job in a restaurant or working for a caterer.

Desktop Publishing

     Skill Builders

1.   Find out what is needed to run standard desktop and graphic publishing software.

2.  Learn to use one desktop publishing program. Design a card, stationery letterhead, or a newsletter format. If possible, print your piece with a color printer.

3.  Review different resume formats. Write a resume using a template form in your word processing software. Create your own design, or use a resume form available on desktop publishing software.

4.  To be a good home desktop publisher, you need editing skills as well. Learn how to use spell-check and grammar check on computer software. Learn how to proofread everything that you produce. Learn standard editing symbols for manuscript work: for deleting copy or letting copy stand, capitalizing and lowercasing words, reversing letters, and marking copy to be set italics or boldface. Find out what to do about single words or very short lines at the top of a page. Learn how to format paragraphs and add page breaks when doing a newsletter. Develop your editing skills by trying to tighten your copy.

5.  Find out about the following in relation to desktop publishing: copyright laws, public domain, plagiarism, and use of trademarks. Find out how to copyright your own work.

Technology

1.  Visit a computer store, graphics center, or desktop publisher and find out about the different kinds of computer hardware available for desktop publishers, including their cost. Compare the features of various monitors, keyboards, scanners, and color printers. Find out how much hard drive is recommended to run industry standard desktop publishing and art software programs.

2.  Arrange for a tour of a local print shop or copy center. Find out about the basics of desktop publishing in the business world: equipment, service, ink colors, paper stock, pricing. If possible, follow a project in progress and observe several of the steps in developing a finished project.

3.  Find out about desktop publishing on the Internet and the World Wide Web. Visit several Web site publishers and compare their work. Find out about online files of clip art, pictures, and fonts, and how to download them for your use. (Be sure that the files are marked for the public domain and are not copyrighted material!)

4.  Lean how to sue a scanner to transfer photos into your computer program and onto the page.

5.  Find out about the changes in desktop publishing that have happened in the last 10 years because of innovations in technology. Are there differences in production time, quality, and costs between the earlier and pressed methods?

Service Projects

1.   Help write, edit, and design at least two issues of a newsletter for a nonprofit group, senior citizens' center, or neighborhood youth center.

2.  Design a logo for a group or a patch for an event using a desktop publishing or a drawing  software package. Present your design ideas to a selection group If possible, be involved in pricing the cost per unit

of the finished project (for example, stationery, fliers, T-shirts).

3.  Create cards, invitations, or programs for a special observance for a communit

y group. Present the product to the group for approval after developing a model. Work with the group or a sponsor. Choose paper that complements your design.

4.  Compile a booklet of poems and illustrate it with your own graphic arts. Use type, layout, and paper that enhance the theme.

5. Teach what you have learned about desktop publishing to a group of Junior Girl Scouts. Help them to create a newsletter or publication of their choosing.

Career Exploration

1.  Investigate tow careers that relate to desktop publishing, such as a freelance desktop publisher, desktop publisher in a large organization, printing shop owner, graphic artist, fabric designer, logo designer, editor, production manager, publisher, or computer programmer. Find out the daily responsibilities involved in these careers, and what kinds of training are needed. What volunteer or apprentice experiences are available for teens that might lay the groundwork for such a career?

2.  Investigate course at a communit

y college or university that would lead to careers in desktop publishing or computer-generated design.

3.  Keep a portfolio of your best work. If you plan to go into this field, you will need to show others what you can do. Speak with an art or business teacher to gets some ideas for presentation.

4.  Start your own business in home desktop publishing. Decide what you want to specialize in , develop a portfolio of your work, and make business cards with your own logo. Develop a flier or advertise in a communit

y newspaper. Keep track of your expenses and earnings.

5.  Spend time with a printer or a designer. Make note of the hardware, software, and techniques that she is using in her job.

Digging Through The Past

     Skill Builders

1.   Go on a day hike and examine the geology or archaeology of the region: for example, streams, fossils, and rock formations. Make sketches or take photographs of the major environmental features.

2.  Grow your own crystals. Keep track of the crystal formation with sketches, descriptions, or photographs. Here is one crystal-growing method to try. Dissolve an ounce of table salt or sugar in a half pint of boiling water. Pour the solution into a saucer or low dish. Place a string in the solution and over the edge of the dish. Let the solution evaporate for one or two days. Use magnifying instruments to analyze the crystal structure.

3.  Make a collection of at least 20 specimens of rocks, minerals, and fossils. Before you collect anything, make sure you have the landowner's permission to do so if you are on private property. Also, in many places, such as national parks and nature preserves, the removal of artifacts, fossils, or any natural material is against the law, so check before you collect! The best sources for collecting are exactions in bedrock, road cuts in solid rock, and cuts made by streams. Be able to tell about the mineral composition of at least five specimens and how each was formed. Accurately identify and label each specimen.

4.  Find out how archaeologists and anthropologists make discoveries about past cultures. Learn what skills and scientific aids are needed for an excavation, and what different objects reveal about the past. Find out about one recent archaeological discovery.

5.  Find out about different types of fossils, including how they are formed and the clues they give us about the history of the earth and the life it has supported. Try to observe actual fossil samples.

Technology

1.   What technology is used to map the ocean floor or the surface of the earth? Try making a simple topographical map of a local unit
. Pages 106 - 019 of Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting will provide you with helpful information.

2.  Put together a geologist's adventure kit that includes the equipment and tools geologists need in the field. Keep handy a list of the items in your kit for easy reference. Consult Safety-Wise for safety rules when using tools or equipment. For example, wear protective goggles if you use a hammer or a chisel to crack open rocks.

3.  Investigate how modern technology (photography equipment, microscopes, computers, lasers, chemicals, etc) assists archaeologists and paleontologists in recreating art and artifacts from the past. Arrange to speak with scientists or natural history museum personnel about how ancient artifacts or fossils are dated and preserved. Or talk to an artist who makes models of prehistoric animals. What research must she do to reconstruct these animals?

4.  Find out about earthquakes and the frequency with which they occur in your state. Learn about faults and plate tectonics. Visit a facility where earthquakes are monitored, or find out how  seismograph works. Learn the safety precautions to take during an earthquake.

Service Projects

1.  Set up a rock and mineral search for younger Girl Scouts at their meeting place. Buildings have many things in or around them that are made from minerals, rocks, petroleum, or coal. Make sure to include items on your list that fall into any of these categories.

2.  Do a project to reduce erosion in your unit
. Devise a method to show that your project has halted or reduced erosion. The project might include planting trees, shrubs, or dune grasses. you might reduce trail erosion at a natural unit
or campsite by relocating the trail to avoid steep grades or wet unit
s, or adding steps and barriers in appropriate places.

3.  Find out how weathering occurs and what effect it has on rocks and soils. Visit places in your unit
where you can observe the effects of weathering. Possibilities include cemeteries, old stone buildings, and unit
s with sever soil erosion. What effects do heat, freezing temperatures, wind, plants, water, and acid rain have on weathering processes? Take part in a project that will offer protection from or repair the effects of weathering.

4.  Collect some objects, such as a tooth, a shell, or a cleaned (boiled) chicken bone, to use as mock fossils with younger girls. Make the "fossil" by mixing plaster of Paris, gravel or sand, and water. Pour the solution into aluminum baking pans coated with petroleum jelly. Embed one or two fossils in the mixture in each pan and let dry for 24 hours. Find an unit
with soft soil or sand (You may have to import some for the activity) to use as a fossil bed and hide each of the fossils you created in it so that younger girls can find them. Take along the tools that the girls need for digging and demonstrate their use. To make fossil prints with the girls, see the Outdoor Happening Try-It on page 240 of the Brownie Girl Scout Handbook.

5.  Find out about an environmental issue in your unit
, such as agricultural, mining, foresting, or irrigation practices. Devise a plan to raise public awareness about the issue and, with the help of other Girl Scouts, present it in a public forum.

Career Exploration

1.  Invite someone who works in a geology-related field to speak to your troop or group. Ask the speaker to discuss the local geology of your unit
. What geological hazards are faced by your local unit
and your state? What schooling is necessary to become a geologist? The speaker can also high-light specialty careers within geology, such as marine geology or hydrology. What other fields are involved and how?

2.  Read about an individual who has done work in one of the earth sciences. Some names to start with are Mary and Louis Leakey and their son, Richard Leakey; Donald Johansson, and Tim White. What has been the significance of their work?

3.  Geology and related sciences offer a wide variety of careers to explore, including fields such as engineering, geophysics, petrology, hydrology, geochemistry, paleontology, planetary geology, and oceanographic geology. Select an are of each science that interests you and interview someone who has made a career in that field. If possible, spend  a day with that person to learn more about her unit
of expertise.

4.  Do a college search to find out which schools offer programs in any of the fields related to earth history or geology. Write to one or more colleges that interest you to find out about their course offerings.

Do You Get The Message?

     Skill Builders

1.  Learn some words in another language. Be able to communicate at least five short phrases in your new language For example, try Braille, sign language, Morse code, or a foreign language.

2.  Develop your debating skills. With a group of at lest four people, form two teams and take opposite sides of an issue. For example, consider the pros and cons of "free speech". Prepare for and then debate the issue before an audience.

3.  How does someone's appearance or clothing influence your impression of that person? Observe current fashion trends in magazines and catalogs. Make a collage or display board with advertisements for clothing that send a message without words. Do these ads send biased or sexist messages? What messages are they sending?

4.  Which is more important, what you say or how you say it? What effect do tone of voice and mannerisms have on verbal messages? Do the following with a group. Choose a neutral sentence, such as "I'll see you on Friday," and say it in five different ways: with anger, sadness, nervousness, love, and impatience. Include body language, facial expressions, hand motions, etc, that will help convey the emotion. Ask others for their reactions. Then, over the next week, analyze your messages. Are you "saying" what you mean?

5. Use humor to convey a message. For example, write a funny caption for a picture or poster, create a cartoon, or tell a joke or a funny story to a group.

6.  Something that may be acceptable in one culture may be considered offensive in another. For instance, in some cultures, it is considered respectful to look down or away from a person when speaking with her. In other cultures, failure to maintain eye contact might indicate that you're lying or hiding something. Discuss regional and cultural differences in communication in a meeting of your troop or group, at your club, or in another public forum.

7.  How does a particular physical environment affect you? Analyze the surroundings in several places: for example, your dentist's or doctor's office, a hair salon, or a bookstore. What do the colors, textures, and furnishings in these places tell you? Share your observations with friends or family members.

Technology

1.  Design a costume display to communicate each of the following messages: "I want to be noticed." "I want to blend into the crowd." "I want to relax." "I want to impress someone." The costumes may include illustrations or actual garments.

2.  Developed an advertising campaign targeted for a specific group of people. Look at print, television, and radio advertising. Create an ad campaign for one product or service.

3.  Technology plays an important role in creating a model's "look". Learn about some of the techniques that can be used to improve or enhance a mode's appearance. You might want to investigate air-brushing photographs, the use of special lenses when taking pictures, and the ways in which computers can be used to modify photographs. If possible, go to a photo-finishing store that offers computer enhancement and make a recent school picture of yourself "picture perfect".

4.  Listen to the lyrics of several popular songs and watch several music videos. How are girls or women represented? Select female recording artists of different ages and from different ethnic groups. Share your observations with others.

Service Projects

1.  Develop and administer a survey to girls in your school or council related to the way females are portrayed in the media. Here are two sample survey questions.  Check the box that best represents your feelings:

How concerned are you about the way women and girls are portrayed in the media?

q Very Concerned       q Fairly Concerned       q Not Very Concerned      q Not at all concerned

The amount of violence shown in movies, television shows, and popular music is a serious problems.

q Strongly Agree       q Somewhat Agree       q Somewhat Disagree      q Strongly Disagree

Come up with three or more of your own questions, and try your survey out on a group of girls. Then analyze and share your results.

2.  With a partner or a group of friends, arrange a self-defense workshop that includes demonstrations by experts.

3.  How can you improve messages in the media? Design a positive media campaign or reword several news reports to convey a positive message. For example, emphasize the number of teenage girls who have quit smoking in a given year rather than the number who have begun the habit.

4.  Create a game that helps younger girls sharpen their communication skills.

Career Exploration

1.  Interview someone older than you about significant school or work experiences that that person experienced at your age.

2.  Find out the differences between a speech pathologist, a speech coach, and a speech teacher. Read about or interview one of the above. Share what you have learned with your Girl Scout friends.

3. List three careers in which language skills are particularly important: for example, a customer service representative, a salesperson, or a politician. Describe the language skills they need to be successful.

4.  Write a resume that accurately describes your education and work experience. Do a practice job interview with a friend.

5.  Design your own business cards. Include your name, your title, and the name, address, and phone number of your business.

Dollars & Sense

Skill Builders

1.      Read pages 97-98, “Life Success Skill #5: Earning and Managing Money,” in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook or “Money Management” on pages 120 – 121 in A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts. Prepare a troop or group budget, with a balance sheet that shows both income and expenses. Include troop money-earning projects as well as the Girl Scout cookie sale and other product sales. Plan activities for the year that keep your troop or group within its budget.

2.       Work with a group to make a long-term financial plan for a goal that will require considerable financial reserves: for example, a trip to the Juliette Low Girl Scout National Center in Savannah, Georgia, or to Our Cabana in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

3.      Many shoppers try to find bargains or to get the best value for their money. Read “Life Success Skill #6: Becoming a Responsible Consumer” in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook or “Money Management” on pages 120 – 121 in A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts. Select a product and, over the course of two months, chart how the price changes in the same store. Or comparison shop for an item in three or four different stores. You can use the phone, visit the stores directly, or check prices through advertising circulars and catalogs. Make sure that you compare the quality of similar items as well as their cost.

4.       Select a country you’d like to visit, investigate the following:

·        The rate of exchange on unit

ed States currency and how, when, and where to exchange money into foreign currency.

·        The customs concerning bartering and bargaining practices. For instance, it’s customary to “bargain down” prices when shopping at outdoor bazaars in some countries.

·        The cost of an item in the country’s currency and its equivalent in U.S. Dollars.

5.       Play a stock market game in your troop or group or with other friends. Use an allotted amount of money to “buy” stocks or mutual funds. Over a designated period of time, “sell” your stocks and buy new ones as you or your group sees fit. Compare your group’s performance with that of a professional money manager.

6.      Talk with your family about its budget. Keep track of the cost of your family’s meals, transportation, clothing, and other costs for two weeks. Designate three ways you could help your family cut costs and increase its savings. Share that information with your family.
 

Technology

1.       Find out about two different software packages that create and analyze budgets. Prepare a letter to a hypothetical employer, a friend, or your family, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of these programs and recommending the one you think should be purchased.

2.       Automatic teller machines (ATM’s) have revolutionized the banking industry. Find out from an employee at your local bank how and ATM is operated and maintained. Brainstorm in your troop or group sensible and safe ways to use ATMs.

3.      When people travel, they need to plan for all their expense plus emergency funds. “Wiring” for money should only be used in real emergencies. Brainstorm with other traveling Girl Scouts the best ways to access funds while traveling. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of letters of credit, debit cards, travelers’ checks, cash, and other methods of accessing money while away from home.

4.       Find out the finances behind credit cards. Compare the “purchase” interest rate with the “cash advance” interest rate on a variety of cards. Figure out how much interest will add to the total cost of a cash advance. Compare “billing cycles” of different bank cards. Find out if they offer different grace periods before interest gets added to the cost of the purchase or advance. Find out about credit cards that offer check writing and the costs of using them. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of credit and debit cards.

5.       Find out how computers have altered trading on the stock exchanges. If possible, visit a brokerage house, talk with an experienced trader, or read up on the “crash” of 1987.

Service Projects

1.       Volunteer to be treasurer for an event or activity that is being planned by your troop or another group to which you belong.

2.       Conduct a money management presentation for another Girl Scout troop or group. Enlist the advice and aid of adults with careers in finance or business. Choose topics that will interest your group, such as budgeting, savings, ways to earn money, checking accounts, how credit works and income taxes.

3.       From food to clothes and shelter, each aspect of daily living incurs an expense. For people with limited income, this is especially difficult. Arrange a drive for goods for disadvantaged individuals. Work with adults and philanthropic organizations in your communit

y to distribute the items that you collect.

4.       Reading and completing tax forms can be quite daunting for the average citizen. With your troop or group, set up a tax fair, in which volunteer accountants or other experts explain how to complete these forms.

5.       Help a troop or group of younger girls to develop and implement a money-earning plan. 

Career Exploration

1.       Go to your local library or school guidance office and ask to see the Encyclopedia of Associations. Look under titles such as Finance, Accounting, or Computer Systems. Choose an organization that sounds interesting, and contact it with any questions about careers in that field.

2.       Ask to review the resume of an individual who works in a finance-related career. Talk to that person about her education and work history. Discuss what steps you might take now to prepare yourself for a similar career.

3.        List a variety of part-time or summer jobs available to you. Compare the actual take-home pay from at least three different types of jobs. Also compare career growth from each job for increased earnings in the future. For example, a part-time job as a sales clerk in department store now will help you later to be a manager, a buyer, or a display artist.

4.       Learn about the responsibilities of operating your own business. Visit at least two businesses run by women. Ask them what’s difficult and what’s exciting about being self-employed.

5.      Talk to three people who have very different jobs and find out how they use money management skills at work. 

Eco-Action

     Skill Builders

1.  Learn what you and your family can do to be more environmentally aware. Investigate recycling, composing, reducing water consumption, energy conservation, and "recycling" (purchasing products with less packaging and buying some things in bulk). Find alternatives to the use of chemicals and pesticides that harm the environment. Incorporate eco-action steps into your lifestyle for one month. At the end of that time, evaluate your actions and make adjustments as needed to continue your commitment.

2.  Choose an environmental issue that affects your communit

y, such as water quality, land-use planning, or use of pesticides. Gather information on all sides of the issue, and evaluate it scientifically on the basis of short-term and long-term effects. Share your findings with others through a presentation, "hands-on" activity, debate, or display.

3.  Record some pleasant, relaxing sounds and some sounds that make you feel tense. Share your findings with others and exchange ideas with them on ways to minimize annoying or harmful sounds. Find out how loud sounds affect human hearing. Does your communit

y have a noise ordinance? Does it need one?

4.  Trace the contributions of someone deeply concerned with environmental quality. Find out how this person became interested in environmental problems and how she pursued her interests. Or find out how different cultures such as the Navajos in North America, the Yanomamos in the Amazon Rainforest, or the Aborigines in Australia viewed their relationship to the earth. Ask your librarian to recommend a recent book about one or more of these groups.

5.  Monitor a stream for pollution sources. Learn to identify the plants and animals that are typically found in clean water and in polluted water, if any, in your unit
. What happens to the plants and animals that cannot adapt to the changes caused by pollution? Find ways you can improve conditions for the wildlife and recreation. Use this information to develop a plan to improve conditions and put your plan into action.

Technology

1.  Find out about an alternative source of energy (such as solar or wind power) that can cut down on personal consumption of nonrenewable resources and demonstrate to others how this energy is tapped.

2.  Find out about how new technology is used in testing air, water, and soil quality.

3.  Participate in an online discussion about one worldwide environmental issue to get different perspectives on the issue. Find out if there are any networks or bulletin boards used by young people for environmental action.

4.  Visit a store or look through a catalog that advertises "environmentally friendly" products. Determine if "High-tech" items can be and are included among these products. Develop personal criteria for selecting products that are "environmentally friendly."

5.  Recycling has become a major effort in many communit

ies. Find out about one recycled resource and how it is recycled. What products are made from the recycled materials?

Service Projects

1.  Create and display posters on energy-saving actions at a mall or other public place and have people sign energy-saving pledges.

2.  Volunteer to work on an ongoing environmental project. Or work as a docent, or interpretive guide, at an aquarium, botanical garden, zoo, nature center, or museum that addresses environmental issues.

3.  Collect information from an organization concerned with environmental issues of particular interest to women and children (for example, birth defects related to pesticide exposure). Create a display or make a presentation to your troop or group on the organization and the issue.

4.  Create a directory or display of local, state, or national groups concerned with environmental issues and actions. Include groups that provide materials and opportunit

ies for young people to get involved. Distribute this information to others.

5.  Combine arts and environmental action. For example, form a theater group that addresses current environmental topics. Perform in your communit

y.

Career Exploration

1.  Do a computer search for careers related to the environment. Follow it up by contacting an organization, business, or individual for information on a specific career in this field.

2.  Attend a career fair that gives you the opportunit

y to speak with individuals working in professions related to the environment.

3.  Learn about careers related to eh environment and the law. Find out the educational requirements and nature of work in those fields.

4.  Identify three past and present environmental activities in your communit

y, nation, or the world and learn more about the work of at least one. Using photos, excerpts of speeches, media clips, etc. arrange a display or special ceremony honoring their contributions.

5.  Identify three or more degree programs in fields concerned with the environment. Compare the course requirements and list the career possibility's with each of these degrees. Try to visit or speak with someone enrolled in the program or a faculty member.

Emergency Preparedness
* ACTIVITIES WITH AN ASTERISK MUST BE COMPLETED TO EARN THIS INTEREST PROJECT PATCH *

     Skill Builders

* 1.  Complete a basic first-aid course offered by the Red Cross, a local hospital, fire station, or school. Know how to stop bleeding, give artificial resuscitation, do the Heimlich maneuver, and treat for shock.

* 2.  Complete a certified cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course offered by the Red Cross, American Heart Association, a local hospital, fire department, or other certifying agency. Know how to administer CPR to an adult as well as a child whose breathing and pulse have stopped. Keep your certification up to date.

  3.  Read "Life Success Skill #4: Staying Safe" in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook or pages 56-57 in A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts. Complete a personal safety course offered by a women's group or your local police. Learn basic principles of self-defense and how to avoid situations that might put yourself in danger.

  4.  Evaluate your home or apartment for fire hazards and help to remove any that you find. Prepare evacuation plans for all unit
s of your house to be adopted and practiced by your family. Know how to test doors prior to opening them. Establish meeting unit
s outside of the home in case of a fire. Make sure that your home has sufficient and charged smoke detectors, as well as recommended fire extinguishers for the kitchen and other unit
s. Know when, how, and where to use a fire extinguisher.

  5.  Make up first-aid and emergency preparedness kit(s) for your home and family car. Include items that are recommended by your local emergency managers or the Red Cross for disasters. Discuss with your family what to do in case of a crisis: if you are all at home and if you are separated. Choose and make plans for three different disasters that might happen in your communit

y, such as a forest fire, tornado, hurricane, lightning storm, toxic spill, power failure, flooding, water contamination or drought, tsunami (Tidal wave), earthquake, snowstorm, or ice storm. Practice disaster plans at home. Include one disasters that would require evacuation from your home.

Technology

1.  Visit a local or state command center (police station, hospital, fire station, U.S. Forest Service, Emergency manager, military) to learn about different technologies used for communication and handling emergencies in your communit

y. Find out what back-up technologies are available for use in case of a disaster.

2.  Learn about ham or CB radio operation through a club meeting, special training, or by spending time with an active member. Learn basic radio procedures and take part in a conversation, drill, or actual emergency communication operation for your communit

y, state, or another part of the world.

3.  Know how to turn off the utilities where you live. Ask your parents or the building superintendent to show you how to locate the electrical control panel or fuse box and the water and gas turnoff valves. Learn how to reset a circuit breaker or change a fuse. Know what to do if there is a gas leak. Learn how to test and change smoke alarm batteries. Know what to do in case o a downed electrical wire. See that you have easy access to candles, matches, and flashlights in an emergency.

4.  Make an emergency plan for how you , your family, and your communit

y would deal with a severe oil shortage. Which services and products do you use that are oil dependent? For example, electricity from power companies is often generated by using oil. Does your communit

y have an emergency plan? If not, discuss ways that your family and neighbors can cut back on oil use and how your communit

y can still provide basic services.

5.  What if your hoe was without electricity for between three and five days? How would you and your family keep warm or cool, cook food and keep it fresh, and keep water pipes from freezing? How would you do your homework? Think about ways to work cooperatively with neighbors. How could neighborhood cooperation improve the situation for everyone?

6.  Learn how to operate an electric generator, propane or gaslight, and propane or gas stove for use in an emergency. Know how to store and handle fuel and where to place equipment safely. Know fire-safety procedures to use with each piece of equipment.

Service Projects

1.  Become a trained emergency volunteer for your communit

y. For example, work in developing a communit

y disaster plan, on a search and rescue team, for a crisis "hot line", at a communit

y or women's shelter, as a lifeguard, or as a member of a ski patrol.

2.  Learn about the mission of disaster relief agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Red Cross. Help collect or pack items for a disaster relief effort in your communit

y, state, country, or abroad or distribute disaster relief information in your communit

y.

3.  Organize or facilitate an event for young children that focuses on home safety, first aid, fire prevention, person safety, and emergency response. Consider using the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Dudes video as a part of your program.

4.  Help develop a plan for assisting wildlife or domestic animals affected by an environmental disaster, such as a wildfire, flood, oil spill, severe storm, or drought, or assist in the aftermath of a disaster with wildlife or domestic animals.

Career Exploration

1. Interview and, if possible, job-shadow someone responsible for communit

y safety, such as a police officer, firefighter, safety manager, emergency medical technician (EMT), state or local emergency manager, or health department official. Find out what kind of education, training, and/or experience is needed for her position.

2.  Interview or invite health department worker or public health nurse to speak on control of health emergencies in your communit

y find out what you can do to assist in preventing or controlling a health emergency such as food poisoning, contaminated water supplies, outbreak of a communicable disease, or severe air pollution.

3.  Interview four parents of school-age children. What are some of the emergency situations that they have had to handle with young children? Based on the information you have collected, prepare a "Tips for Baby-Sitters" sheet and distribute it to your friends.

4.  Develop and/or disseminate information on common household emergencies for parents of small children. This could be a collection of fliers, a news column, awareness posters, or a video.

5.  Read a book about someone surviving a natural disaster. Determine what knowledge, preparation, and attitude are needed to survive a natural disaster, based on the survivor's experience.

Exploring the Net
 

Family Living
 

     Skill Builders

1. Read magazines, newspapers, books and other material on family life topics for one month. Keep a journal, noting current trends. Select one issue to discuss in your troop or group, or in a personal essay.

2. What does it cost your family to operate the household for one month? work with your parents or guardian to create a family budge. Include costs for food, housing, clothing, transportation, child care, children's allowances, entertainment, insurance, and debt repayment. Compare your family's monthly expense with their monthly income. Discuss with your family the types of financial problems you can avoid when using a budget.

3.  Invite a financial planner or consultant to a troop or group  meeting to discuss the services financial planners or agencies provide to families.

4. Arrange a family meeting to discuss two or three important issues that your family has experienced some conflict over: too much TV, curfews, household responsibilities, and sibling arguments are some possibilities. Each person should have an opportunit

y to express  her or his feelings as well as listen respectfully to others. Aim at reaching an agreement on at least one of the issues.

5.  Prepare your family chronology (time line). The chronology can be displayed on a collage, a chart, or through a tape recording. Include the important events (births, moves, marriages, deaths, etc) that have taken place since you were born. Highlight the events that caused significant changes in your family. Briefly discuss how these changes were handled. Do this activity with your family and share your chronology with your group.

6. Create a "family time" activity. Family members have busy schedules. Quality time together is often limited. Think of activities that will preserve and reinforce your family relationships, like reading to a younger sibling, helping a parent or grandparent learn computer skills, or playing board games.

7. Plan a family reunion. Form a committee of relatives to work with you in planning the event. Decide where and when you will hold it, and how you can involve relatives who live far away. In addition, create a display of old photos to share at the reunion.

Technology

1. Find out how technology has changed family life through the years. Talk to individuals of four different ages about what family life was like when they were children. Talk to both women and men. Ask someone who is in her or his twenties or thirties, forties or fifties, sixties, seventies, or older. How do their descriptions compare with what you know of family life today? Document and share your findings with others.

2. Take a trip to a computer store. Gather information about computer software that could be used in your household for task management and for fun. Which software programs are most worthwhile?

3. Develop a family media and technology center and storage unit
for labeled videocassettes, tapes, and compact discs. Regularly recycle or share your tapes with others.

4. Do an on-line search to find information about family life in two cultures other than your own. Compare the similarities and differences.

5. Design a family T-Shirt for a family reunion or gathering. This may be an original design in stencil or silk-screen or some other technique. Or design and print your family's greeting cards.

Service Projects

1. Compile a communit

y directory of medical, legal, educational, financial, and recreational service for families. Make it available to troop or group family members or other communit

y members.

2. With your family, prepare and deliver a holiday basket for a homebound, elderly, or ill person in your communit

y.

3. Through your school or religious institution, find out how to help families in need in your communit

y. Consider providing clothing, food, or information on child care. Share with your troop or group, or others, how they may also be of help.

4. Set up two or there meetings with other families with whom you share a common interest. Meet to plan an event, such as a parks beautification project. Come up with realistic goals and time lines.

5. Plan a special family meal. Choose people to do the following: shop for the food, cook the meal, set the table, and do the clean up. Be certain to assign tasks to all family members.

Career Exploration

1. Identify at least five careers that involve family living. Find resources or books about three of these careers, and answer the following questions:

• How much and what type of schooling is required?

• What are the daily job responsibilities?

• Where would a person in this field work (schools, hospitals, etc)?

2. There are many different ways that parents today juggle having a career and raising a family. Some do it alone, and some with the support of spouses or other family members. Interview at least three parents in diverse situations and with chidden of varying ages. Ask them questions about the challenges and rewards of managing a career and family life, such as:

• Are there different responsibilities for mother or father?

• If you could do it differently, what would you change?

• What supports do you rely on?

• What are creative solutions you have worked out in your family to help get household jobs done?

3. Take on an unit
at home that you will personally be responsible for, like laundry, food shopping, or menu planning. Come up with timely and creative ways to tackle tedious chores.

4. Invite representatives form agencies that provide services for families to a troop or group meeting. Have them discuss the types of services provided, the costs involved, and the major family issues challenging their agencies. you might also invite parents or guardians to the meeting.

Fashion Design

     Skill Builders

1. Create a fashion design for a specific population such as pregnant women, fire or police professionals, or people with physical disabilities. Be creative in your designs and try to address the special needs of the people in these groups.

2. Learn to knit or crochet a garment. Ask experts for help choosing materials or interpreting patterns or instructions. Your home economics or art teacher might be a good resource.

3. Ask someone how to create a pattern for a specific wardrobe item, or adapt one that you purchase form a store. Create the garment form the pattern.

4. Color is one of the most important aspects of fashion design. Not everyone looks good in every colored. The colors you wear need to be suited to your skin, hair, and eye coloring, and even personality. With friends, collect pieces of fabrics about 20" x 40" income pure basic colors - red, yellow, blue, purple, green, orange and in black, white, and brown. Try to get some lighter, subdued tones of these colors as well: for example, pin  blue-0green, beige, and gray. Have the group vote on which piece looks best on each person. Afterward, discuss why you  think certain colors look best on some people. How will this knowledge affect your choice of clothing? Keep your own color chart to refer to when designing for yourself.

5.  Fashion is a personal choice, but most importantly, fashion should fit the wearer. Knowing your measurements will enable you to adapt or create flattering clothes designs. Find out about proportions by making a chart that includes the following measurements; length from neck to waist; neck circumference: arm circumference and length; and measurement of bust, waist, hips, thighs, legs. Use these measurements to analyze your figure type to purchase clothing and select patterns with the proper designation of Junior, Petite, Misses, Woman, or Half Size.

6.  Follow fashion trends by reading fashion magazines and trade journals. (Your local library may have copies of these publications) Evaluate which trends have become established and which are really "fads". Predict your own fashion trends for next season.

7. Design clothing for a special occasion, such as a bridesmaid's gown for a wedding. You might want to collaborate with seamstress or dressmaker.

Technology

1. Choose three synthetic fibers. Find out how they are made and what their special properties are. With this information, decide what types of clothes or accessories you would make out of each fiber.

2. Go to a computer store and review the types of software available to professionals in the fashion design industry. Ask the salespeople to explain the merits of the various packages.

3.  find out how technology has made a difference in fashion design and manufacturing. If possible, use design software to create a pattern or a new fashion design for a shirt, dress, pair of pants, or other wardrobe component.

4.  Manufacturing sometimes causes pollutants to be released into the environment. Create a list of at least five ways in which clothing manufacturers can operate with the lowest impact on the natural environment.

Service Projects

1.  Rummage through your closets and drawers for items - gloves, hats, sweaters, scarves, etc - that are in good condition, but that you don't sue anymore. Use felt, beads, yarn, thread, sequins, or fabric paint to add decorative touches to each item. Then donate them to a communit

y clothes drive.

2.  Host a fashion show for and by youngsters. Use decorations and music to liven up the event.

3.  Teach a group of younger children a skill such as knitting, crocheting, or sewing. Have the group create an entire garment using a chosen technique.

4.  Volunteer at a local theater or school to assist with costume design. Learn what you can about technical aspects of design while expressing your creativity.

Career Exploration

1.  Participate in an organized job-shadowing experience. Choose a job such as fashion designer, costume designer, fashion consultant, fashion editor, or marketing merchandising director.

2.  Go to a retail store in your unit
. Develop a list of potential careers simply by browsing. Compare your list to a list of careers in retail sales in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, available at the library.

3.  Create the resume of a fictitious person who works in the fashion industry. You might want to imagine what you will be doing in 10 years and base your resume on this projection. This activity has no right or wrong answers. See pages 101-103 in A Resource Book For Senior Girl Scouts for guidelines on preparing a resume.

4.  Find out how unions have changed the conditions of clothing manufacture in the unit

ed States. Look at eh child labor laws for the nation and for your state. Discuss with two others the effects of these laws and agreements.

5. Get a part-time job in a retail store.

Folk Arts
 

     Skill Builders

1. Read several folk tales from different countries. Determine how the climate and geography of the unit
play key roles in the story. Look for characters that personify elements of nature. What impact do these characters have on the lives of the other characters? Create a presentation of the folk tale for younger Girl Scouts, and lead a discussion about it afterward.

2.  Learn how to hook k a rug by reading books that offer instruction on the subject or by taking a course. Obtain the supplies and tools you will need. Look at pictures in books or visit a museum that displays rugs from different cultures, for example, Persian or Navajo rugs. Design a rug. Describe the fibers you would use or get actual samples.

3.  Develop papier-mâché masks to represent mythological characters from different parts of the world. Use these masks in a performance for younger children, such as a play or puppet show, or display them in a folk history or folk arts show.

4.  Write your own fairy tale based on a particular culture, or rewrite an old favorite. Put the heroes through test of strength and character. What struggles do they overcome? What rewards do they reap? Read at least three or four famous fairy tales, such as those by the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson, for inspiration.

5.  Design beadwork or other ornamental jewelry. The tools and materials you use are key. For starters, you will have to select a suitable thread. A standard necklace is 18-20 inches. Silk, cotton, or nylon threads will accommodate most beads. Experiment with making different kinds of knots on the ends of several threads. Try stringing beads of different weights and choosing beads of various styles and from different cultures. What other materials will you need? Put together a list and purchase what you can. Perhaps share the cost with friends. Once you've tested and mastered the materials, you can focus on design. Look at pictures of distinct styles, such as African or Venetian beads.

6.  Make an object in the folk arts tradition that requires a painting technique. For example, work on a box, a certificate, or a piece of furniture.

Technology

1.  Make a quilt from start to finish. It could be small enough for a baby carriage or large enough for your bed. Choose a design pattern from one of the many fine fashion design programs now available via computer.

2.  Find at least two computer programs that can be used to design folk art. Use a design on fabrics or articles of clothing. What method do you use to transfer the design to the fabric?

3.  Find out about the technology of music and sound recording. Interview two professional musicians, music archivists, or recording engineers. How are old records or tapes preserved? Solo or with partners, sing and record on tape your favorite folk music.

4.  Interview one or more people who are attempting to preserve antique examples of folk art for museums, for profit, or for their own personal pleasure. Look over a collection and discuss with your troop or group members the appeal of each piece and the techniques necessary to care for and preserve such art.

Service Projects

1.  Put on a folk arts festival in your communit

y.  Invite neighbors, friends, art students, and professional artists or crafts people to set up booths with crafts to view or do in a verity of unit
s: For example, macramé, hooked rugs, woven baskets, beadwork, batik, quilting, decorative wooden objects, painted furniture, pottery, tin ware, and carved soapstone.

2.  Hold a storytelling hour at a local library or school. Read a selection of folk tales. Be dramatic! Use props such as slides, puppets, or sound effects. Leave time for discussion.

3.  Make a collection to show the varieties of design found in one type of folk art, such as baskets, religious symbols, woven cloth, or pottery. If you can obtain pieces made in other countries, you may even have an international collection. Use photographs or illustrations if you do not have examples of the actual objects.

4.  Host a folk song session in your local park or other communit

y unit
with your troop or group, a friend, or neighborhood center. Invite people to share and sing folk songs together. Distribute the song lyrics.

5.  Teach or demonstrate folk dances at a senior citizens' center.

Career Exploration

1.  Shadow a professional in the folk arts field for one day. It could be an artist, a writer, an oral historian, a teacher, a musician, or an archivist at a museum. Take notes on what she does and the skills needed in her field.

2.  Read a biography or work of a famous anthropologist such as Ruth Benedict or Margaret Mead. Where and how did they work? Discuss the book in a book discussion group or troop meeting. Or read a work by a famous folklorist or writer of fairy tales.

3.  Learning about the traditional customs, folk tales, dances, art forms, and legends of a culture is on e of the tasks that cultural anthropologists engage in. Call a local college's department of anthropology for the name of a professor of anthropology to interview. Ask her about her fieldwork or academic research. What does she observe or look for?

4.  Explore the art of collecting. There are many people who collect folk art objects. How do they store, preserve, and display their collectibles? Visit at least two museum exhibits of folklore and folk objects. Historical museums and universities, as well as art museums, house such collections.

5.  Find out about careers in curating and art conservation from the education department of a major museum or the fine arts department of a college, through research online, or by talking to professional artists and craftsperson's. If possible, observe a conservation project in progress.

The Food Connection

     Skill Builders

1.   Familiarize yourself with the food pyramid found on page 61 in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook. Plan a menu for your family for two weeks, choosing foods from the food pyramid. Substitute healthy foods, such as fruits, yogurt, and juice, for foods high in fat, sugar, salt, and caffeine. Discuss the menu with your family prior to trying it, then again at the end of the first week. Incorporate changes in to the following week's menu.

2.  Water is the perfect drink. Your body absolutely needs water and you get it in many forms. Almost all foods and beverages contain water. However, equip yourself with a water bottle and make a conscious effort to drink eight cups of water a day, the recommended daily amount. Do this for a two-week period. Do you notice a difference?

3  Find out about the role cholesterol plays in health. Learn about the difference between HDLs (high-density lipoproteins) and LDLs (low-density lipoproteins). Make a list of foods high in cholesterol or high in fats that are favorite foods for teens. Develop a list of substitutions. Find out how to read labels for fat content. Share your findings with friends and family.

4.  Collect recipes on a theme of interest, such as vegetarian soups or sugar-free desserts. Illustrate the recipes and organize them into a cookbook. Share copies with interested people.

5.  Vitamins and minerals are essential to your well-being. They are in food and also available in vitamin supplements. Make a poster or chart that lists vitamins and minerals, their functions, and which food contain them. Present your display at a troop or group meeting.

Technology

1.  How large a role do media and advertising play in defining our body image? how might this create a climate for eating disorders? discuss female body images and their relation to bulimia and anorexia nervosa (see pages 31-34 in A Resource Book For Senior Girl Scouts). Learn about these eating disorders. What are some of the symptoms? What should you do if you know someone who seems to have an eating disorder? Create a poster or awareness campaign to promote healthy body image.

2.  Find at least five resources online to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Key words might be women's health, nutrition, food pyramid, and exercise.

3.  Learn to see beyond food packaging by understanding content labels. Look for such information as serving size, fat content, and the presence of vitamins and minerals. Visit a grocery store and compare the packaging, contents and price of at least four different products. Share what you learn with others.

4.  What is insulin? What function does it have in your body? Having diabetes means that your body doesn't make enough insulin or is unable to use the food you eat in the proper way. Learn about the two types of diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2). What are the warning signs of diabetes? Talk with someone who has diabetes or works with diabetics. Find out about tests that determine blood sugar levels and about diet.

Service Projects

1.  Volunteer to help with a communit

ywide health fair. Or work as a volunteer for  fitness walk or run. Ensure that first aid, water, and high-energy, healthy snacks are available.

2.  Create a puppet show or presentation for younger girls or the elderly that addresses healthy eating habits. Learn about nutrition needs for these two age groups.

3.  Organize or participate in a food drive. Contact a local food bank, or see if your local Girl Scout council has an annual food drive and volunteer to be on the planning committee. If not, organize one with the help of a mentor.

4.  Serve on a committee to make recommendations for school cafeteria or camp food. Be able to justify recommendations for changes based upon dietary needs and healthy alternatives to present fare. Consider cost per serving, government guidelines, and labor in planning these menus.

5.  Learn about different foods that are eaten and not eaten for strongly held religious or dietary beliefs. This might include, for example, people of the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhism, or Sikh faiths, as well as vegetarians. Determine if events you attend are being inclusive or exclusive when it comes to food options. Work with a group to broaden food options for an organized group or event, such as a day camp, resident camp, school potluck gathering, or cultural festival.

Career Exploration

1.  Make a list of four to six careers related to food and then find out the following for tow of these careers: skills and responsibilities; working conditions; training and education needed; earnings.

2.  Agricultural science includes food science, plant science, animal science, and soil science. People with careers in these unit
s work to increase agricultural productivity, as well as to meet the nutritional needs of consumers. Write to a school specializing in one of these unit
s or visit its Web site. If  possible, communicate with a student at the school. Find out what specific jobs are available upon graduation.

3.  Dieticians work in hospitals, mussing homes, schools, or on their own as consultants. They promote healthy eating habits to prevent illness. Arrange to shadow a dietician and see how she impacts peoples lives. Find out about the training required for becoming a dietician.

4.  Interview tow women who work in a health or food related career. If possible, choose someone who is working for herself such as a nutritional consultant or the owner of a health food store, and someone who works for others, such as a chef or trainer at a health club.

5.  Get firsthand experience in a food-related field by working part-time or during the summer in a food business.

From A to V: Audiovisiual Production

     Skill Builders

1.  The production of movies, television, and videos involves the creation of story-boards. Storyboards, which read like comic strips, illustrate the key sections of specific scenes. The frames resent what the camera would see during that particular scene. Create a storyboard for a scene from one of your favorite movies, videos, television shows, or for a story you've written.

2.  Listen to a favorite song and develop a video for it. What images come to mind as you hear the song? At what speed do these images change? What colors and angles are present in the shots? Keeping these questions in mind, create your own music video, or a slide or illustration presentation set to music.

3.  Public service announcements (PSAs) are "advertisements" that address social issues like dropping out of school or substance abuse. Look at how the PSAs are presented in each of the different media. Using video or audio equipment, create your own PSA on the topic of your choice and share it in your communit

y.

4.  "Foley artists" add sounds to movies and television programs to make them more realistic. Watch a movie or TV show and see if you can catch the folly artist in a slip-up. For example, is the actor sneaking around silently in leather boots and jacket? Is the knock at the door too soon or too late? Then tape a scene from a favorite who with he sound off and try to add your own soundtrack. Substitute your interpretation of the sound while showing the video with the original sound turned off. You may need some friends to help out with the dialogue!

5.  Explore the world of sound recording. Learn how a tape recorder, microphone, or mixing board work. Tape-record, with permission, an "event' In your family: a group sing, a birthday party, or even a dinner-time discussion. Replay the tape and find five things that you would need to address in future taping. Are the people speaking clearly enough? Are background noises getting in the way? etc. Tape another "event" (perhaps your Girl Scout meeting) and address these issues.

Technology

1.  Find out how a video, movie, or a still camera works. Explore the uses of the different settings, speeds, exposures, and special effects offered.

2.  Find out how slide projectors work. Observe two different slide presentations at your school, library, local museum, or theater. Without changing the topic, how would you change the presentations to make them more interactive and interesting? Or give a slide presentation to a group.

3.  Digital technology is revolutionizing the audiovisual field. Find out how slides and projections are created and used in presentation software like PowerPoint, Harvard Graphics, or Aldus Persuasion. What equipment is needed to create a presentation using these software packages? How are computers used to create multimedia presentations? Watch a computer store "demo" presentation of multimedia software.

4.  Visit a camera store and learn more about one of the digital cameras. Then explore the uses of digitized pictures. Look at how photos are used on Web pages and other online resources, how they are used on CD-ROM, why the publishing companies need them, or how artists can change them to create new types of art.

5.  Learn the difference between regular and DAT tapes. If possible, go to a music store and listen to both a traditional and a DAT tape, exploring the difference in the quality of sound between the two mediums. Or explore the quality of sound that's available via the internet. Are music concerts as good online as they are in person? How is digital technology enhancing the quality of sound in online resources?

6.  Visit a television studio. Take a tour and see how video, sound, and editing techniques are used to create TV shows. How different is the sound system form the one you have at home or school? How different is the TV camera from a video camera? Find out how film, text, and sound are edited. What other machines are used? If possible, observe the taping or producing of an entire show, focusing on what goes on "behind the camera." What work remains for post-production?

Service Projects

1.  Create an audiovisual (AV) presentation to highlight the benefits of Girl Scouting. Make sure that you work with someone at your council to ensure the accuracy of the information. Use it to help your council recruit new volunteers, get funding, or encourage girls to join Girl Scouting.

2.  Work with others in your communit

y to record the history of your communit

y. Find out what the town was like 30, 50, even 80 years ago by recording people who lived then. Use old maps and photos to illustrate your presentation. Don't forget to include background music.

3.  Videotape an event in your communit

y for people who cannot get there. For example, is your town honoring a notable resident, or staging an original dance or theatrical presentation? Make the tape available for viewing at your local or school library.

4.   Volunteer to be a member of your school's AV team or squad.

5.  Volunteer to create, maintain, or index an organization's photo or slide library.

Career Exploration

1.  Talk with someone at a local camera or sound equipment sore. Find out the requirements to be a camera or sound equipment salesperson, What training does the person get? what is the beginning pay? What career options could such a position lead to?

2.  The work of many different inventors has contributed to the advanced technology presently available in the filed of audiovisual production. Read a biography or watch a video about one individual whose invention had a resounding impact on the media and on society. Read up on the invention this person created and imagine how it will change in the next 10-20 years.

3.  Find out what kind or education and training is required to be a camera operator for film or television. Gather information about one person' experience in the field from magazines or books, or by going online.

4.  Get online and chat with the Web manager of your favorite Web site. Find out what her education is, how she was trained for her job, how she uses multimedia in her site, and the concerns she has about the ability of others to copy things directly from the Web. What advice would she give someone starting out in this field?

5.  Create a comic book or picture book to teach younger girls about careers in AV production. Use the sill of storyboarding to help you plan out your book. Make the characters realistic and positive role models for girls in your communit

y.

From Fitness To Fashion

     Skill Builders

1.  With your parent's permission, do aerobic exercises - for example, cycling, swimming, skating, jumping rope, or walking - at least three times a week for at least six weeks. These exercises tone your body and burn fat. Gradually increase either the time of your workouts, or your repetitions, whichever applies. Keep a personal fitness log. Make sure to increase your fluid intake.

2.  Learn how to take care of your skin. Start by eating right! *See the food pyramid in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook*. Determine your skin type (oily, dry, normal, or combination), and develop a skin-care routine to fit your needs. Follow it for at least two weeks. Learn the meaning of the following skin-care terms: hypoallergenic, toner, astringent, exfoliate, mask, moisturizer, sun protection factor (SPF), antiperspirant, deodorant. Learn what natural, organic, and botanical cosmetics are.

3.  Change your hairstyle. You don't need a radical cut to acquire a new look. Start with clean, conditioned hair. Try a zigzag part down the middle or side, French braids or cornrows using ribbons, beads, or other ornaments. If you usually wear your hair loose, try a topknot or French twist. If you wear it up, try it loose. Add a headband or barrettes. Look through magazines for an appealing style. Keep in mind the shape of your face, whether or not you wear glasses, and how difficult the style is to maintain.

4.  Learn how to build a wardrobe. Begin with five basic pieces in your current wardrobe - jacket, skirt, pants, dress or jumper, blouse. This is your wardrobe's foundation. Create 10 or 12 outfits by interchanging these pieces. Try adding an additional blouse or sweater. Build onto these pieces with shoes, belts, scarves, jewelry, and other accessories. Some people build a wardrobe around their favorite colors.

5.  Develop a project on fashions in history. Select a period in history, such as eighteenth-century America, the Victorian period, or the 1920s. Learn what styles were popular during that time. Or trace one item, such as hats, shoes, or bathing suits, and show how styles have changed over the years. Or develop your project on the fashions and cosmetics of another culture. Plan a presentation on your topic.

6.  With today's emphasis on natural products, you might try making your own cosmetics. Look through beauty guides, magazines, and books for recipes on how to make facial cleansers, masks, skin moisturizers, skin conditioners, shampoos, and hair conditioners. Some of the ingredients will come from your own kitchen; others you may have to buy. Compile a "cosmetic resources" scrapbook for common beauty problems, and list your resources and recip0es. With the permission of a parent or guardian, try some of the recipes.

Technology

1.  Discover how cosmetics are made. Learn about the ingredients, testing procedures, manufacturing techniques, and packaging involved in producing a product.

2.  Learn about natural and synthetic fabrics. Select five fabrics such as silk, linen, and polyester. Learn how each fabric is created, and what types of clothes it is used for. Are clothes made from these fabrics suitable to wear in only certain seasons? Make a collage with illustrations of fashions in a variety of fabrics for different occasions.

3.  Fashion design has entered the computer age. Find out what software is used by the fashion industries. Check with your local computer store or a fashion school for information.

4.  Design a fashion or accessory item. Or invent an article of clothing or accessory that has a special function.

5.  Collect several different fashion magazines or different issues of the same magazine to review. Collect enough to draw some conclusions about them. What kind of stories are highlighted? Describe the model(s) on the covers. Is there much diversity with regard to age, race, and physical features? Would the average girl relate to these models? Formulate your conclusions and present them to your group.

Service Projects

1.  There are alternatives to shopping in the more expensive department stores. Choices include thrift shops, consignment shops, discount stores, garage sales, and outlets. Make a directory that includes the names and addresses of several of these stores, and the bargains available. Distribute it in your communit

y, particularly to the local library.

2.  Direst a "toiletries" drive in your council to help women in need. Collect soaps, shampoos, combs, lotions, and deodorants. Place sets in individual decorated bags for distribution.

3.  Host a fashion show for teens as a troop money-earning project. Include "models" with special needs, if possible. Consider extending the fashion show concept to include skin-care, hair, and wardrobe tips.

4.  Hold a From Fitness to Fashion Fair at a senior citizens' center or for younger Girl Scouts in your communit

y.

5.  Find out about unfair labor practices that exploit garment workers in this and other counties. Plan and implement actions you can take to raise public awareness of this issue in your communit

y.

Career Exploration

1.  To get ideas about careers in the fashion magazine industry, study the masthead in your favorite fashion magazine. List the careers represented there. Select  a career that interests you , and learn more about it.

2.  Discover which schools are noted for their fashion programs. Where are they located? What are the requirements for entrance? Speak to a guidance counselor about careers in the fashion industry. Send away for brochures and program descriptions of occupations and careers in fashion, make-up, fitness, and related fields.

3.  Interview two of the following:

• Buyer in a department store.

• Fashion consultant in the merchandising division.

• Tailor

• Cosmetics representative.

• Hairstylist.

4.  Achieving a personal style is a matter of choosing what's right for you- for your age, your build, your complexion. It means adding your won touch: an antique pin you found at a flea market, an old sweater that just happens to match the stripe in your new skirt, a belt your sister gave you. If you have a flare for personalizing your wardrobe, explore a career or avocation as a fashion consultant. Offer to help two of your friends personalize their wardrobes with accessories.

From Shore to Sea

     Skill Builders

1.  Learn about the creatures that inhabit ocean tide pools and the rocky shoreline. Discover these creatures firsthand or at a saltwater aquarium exhibit. Find out which creatures are filter feeders, grazers, predators, or scavengers, and observe their feeding habits. Compare and contrast the methods of protection, camouflage, and movement of each organism. Compare the rocky coast plants and animals with those of the sandy beach and salt marsh.

2.  Become a geological detective. Using a magnifying glass or microscope, study a handful of sand. With the help of a geologist or earth science teacher, or a geology book about the region, identify at least three different kinds of rocks, particles, or minerals in the sand. If possible, learn about the history of the sand by consulting a geological map or book about the unit
.

3.  The oceans and large bodies of water such as the Great Lakes influence global weather and climate patterns. Determine what effect the major bodies of water have on the weather, including hurricanes, cyclones, and tsunamis.

4.  What are some of the environmental concerns about the extraction and mining of elements from the sea? What kinds of safety precautions should be or are being taken? Describe and illustrate your findings or discuss them in your troop or group.

5.  Investigate global warming. What role do oceans play in the process? Find at least two different studies going on regarding global warming and two actions taken by world governments to deal with causes and/or concerns. Consult your science teacher, group leader, or another adult for help. Present your findings in a discussion, using visual aids as needed.

6.  Create a piece of art, a collection of poems, a slide or video show using pictures and music inspired by the ocean, or something else water-related. Share your work with family members or your troop or group, and explain to them the role the ocean played in inspiring you.

Technology

1.  Tour a boat used in deep-sea fishing or in marine biology studies. What kinds of equipment are used to navigate, to find the depth of the ocean, or to perform studies?

2.  Find out how scientists use sonar, satellites, and super-computers to explore the deepest reaches of the oceans without getting wet.

3.  From water wheels to hydroelectric plants, people have been using water power for centuries. Pick one of the following technologies to learn how modern scientists continue to explore ocean energy to meet the growing demand for power:

• Ocean thermal energy conversion.

• Wave and tidal power.

• Ocean currents.

     Keep the following questions in mind as you explore: How does this technology work? Can it be used anywhere in the world? Are there any potential health or ecological risks associated with it?

4.  There is a tremendous need for fresh water in countries all over the world, yet the majority of the world's water is found in oceans which contain salt. Research and then try out one way to distill fresh water from salt water.

5.  What kinds of technology are being used to predict the tremendous storms that can devastate coastal regions? Each year,  tsunamis, hurricanes, cyclones, tidal waves, and storm surges cause many deaths and destroy property. Find out about a storm that might impact your unit
or one in which you have an interest. Find out how the storm is tracked, how warnings are issued, and what the procedures are for safety and evacuation.

Service Projects

1.  Assist with a local project that involves ecological studies of aquatic species. Work with a scientist or researcher to interpret your data.

2.  Volunteer time with a marine conservation or education organization, such as a nature center or aquarium. Help educate the public about the importance of marine ecosystems.

3.  Assist with a clean up of a water habitat. Volunteer to publicize a clean-up day by designing and/or distributing fliers.

4.  Create an educational game for younger girls that will help them learn more about the oceans.

Career Exploration

1.  Develop a list of 8-10 careers in the field of oceanography. Include a brief description of each. Interview or read about someone in one of these fields and find out what her work entails.

2.  Investigate at least two Sea Grant institutions concerned with research, education, and exchange of technology regarding coastal, marine, and Great Lakes issues. What kinds of research, career training, or communit

y concerns are being addressed by the universities? Describe two of these concerns.

3.  Visit with someone who earns a living from the sea. What are the issues about sustaining ocean harvests? Find out what training, apprenticeships, and education are required for careers in fishing, aquaculture, food production, or mining form the sea.

4.  Investigate two tourism careers that are associated with an ocean environment, such as working in an aquarium or on a cruise ship. What kind of training, skills, and education might be needed?

5.  Capture the ocean's beauty on camera, sketch pad, or by writing a poem or song about the sea.

From Stress To Success

     Skill Builders

1.  Find out how the human body responds to stress. How are the following affected by stress: metabolism, blood pressure, heart rat, breathing? What happens to the body if it is continually under stress?

2.  Feelings of stress can be reduced by using relaxation techniques. Sit in a quiet, comfortable place. Close your eyes. Relax all your muscles, breathe slowly, and repeat the word "one" each time you exhale. Using a word helps to erase other thoughts. Continue this exercise of focusing on each exhalation for 10-15 minutes. Slowly open your eyes. How do you feel? Find time to do this exercise once a day for a week.

3.  Effective time management is the ability to plan your time well. Such planning often eliminates stressful situations. Plan your time by creating a reasonable schedule for yourself for one week. Fit in each activity you hope to accomplish from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. Be sure to designate some time to practice relaxation techniques. Try it out. What were your results? What did you learn?

4.  Massage can relieve stress in muscles. Learn several massage strokes that help in relaxation. Try working on your feet, hands, or someone's shoulders. For example, a hand can be massaged by making firm circular patterns with your thumb between the tendons on the back of the hand. Then grasp each finger one at a time with your hand, and with a slight twisting motion slide your hand slowly from the base of the finger to the tip.  Similar patterns can be used on the feet. A little hand lotion or oil will help to make the motion more soothing.

5.  Some stresses are caused by problems for which you cannot readily see a solution. Choose one of these problems and brainstorm at least five ways you could cope with it. Read chapter 5 in the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook for some ideas. Or ask parents or guardians, friends, and teachers for possible solutions. Practice one of the "solutions" regularly.

6.  Some of the symptoms of stress can be relieved by physical activity. Make room in your schedule to participate in one of the following activities at least three times a week. Do this for at least one month. Compare how you feel before and after the one-month period.

• Play a sport.

• Participate in a movement or dance activity that makes you feel more flexible.

• Go for a 20 minute walk or ride a bicycle for several miles.

• Participate in a vigorous physical activity that lasts at least 25 minutes.

    Make a list of the different methods people use to reduce stress, such as listening to music, soaking in a hot tub, or pursuing a hobby. Star those that would work for you and use one the next time you feel stressed.

Technology

1.  Find out how biofeedback works. What ailments respond well to biofeedback techniques? Which are less responsive? Why? How does the biofeedback machinery help to treat the ailment? How can you use this information to reduce stress in your own life?

2.  Hold a discussion at your troop or group meeting about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in today's society. Questions to consider: Does the computer enslave us or does it reduce our workload? Is the increasing reliance on computers having negative as well as positive effects on our live? Support your viewpoints with personal experiences.

3.  Take time to listen to the sounds in your environment. Listen to a variety of types of music and find pieces that evoke different emotions in you - happiness, sorrow, anger playfulness, etc. Use tension-reducing music or sounds when you are feeling stressed, perhaps by making a tape recording of your favorite music or taking a walk outdoors.

4.  Muscles tense under stress, sometimes without our realizing it. Hunched shoulders from hours of studying, for example, can bring on shoulder and neck pains. Learn to monitor your body and relax tight muscles. Find a cassette tape with a recorded relaxation exercise on it that you can use, or record your own with instructions from a resource on relaxation exercises.

Service Projects

1.  Help to plan a workshop on stress among teenagers for your troop or group, school, or religious organization. Invite teens, their parents or guardians, and experts in your communit

y to attend. Include discussion time and hands-on activities. You may want to include a role-play in which teen and parent participants reverse roles and enact a familiar scene of conflict (staying out late, consequences of not doing schoolwork, etc).

2.  School is a cause e of stress for many teens. Volunteer as a peer counselor or tutor for a semester at your school or communit

y center. Be sure that you receive training in counseling or teaching techniques!

3.  Contact local organizations, such as youth centers, gyms, health clubs, and hospitals, to identify stress management programs and resources for youth. Make a list available through your council or school.

4.  Set up a time with your family members in which you can practice a relaxation or stress management technique together: for example, exercise, breathing techniques, prayer, listening to music, singing. Keep a record of everyone's progress over a two to three month period. What changes do you notice in family interactions?

Career Exploration

1.  Read about or interview two professionals from among the following: biofeedback consultant, sports trainer, relaxation therapist, massage therapist, recreation therapist, nutritionist/dietitian, yoga instructor, or physical therapist. Ask them about their field, how they were trained, and how they see their field expanding or changing in the next 10 years.

2.  In the last 10 years, how has the medical field incorporated stress management in the prevention and treatment of illness and disease? Read about these changes in magazines or books, or learn about them elsewhere. Discuss your finding in a meeting of your troop or group or club.

3.  Educators are exploring the connection between stress and success. Speak to at least three teachers about how they think stress affects student performance, and tips they have for dealing with it.

4.  Counseling is a field that helps people handle or reduce stress in their lives. Find out how psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinical social workers are educated and trained. What is each trained and/or licensed to do?

Games for Life

     Skill Builders

1.   Read the chapter "Getting Started" in Games for Girl Scouts. Learn games from three different countries (one of which can be the U.S.A.) and teach them to a group of younger girls.

2.  Learn about games that can be used as "ice-breakers" for groups of people coming together for the first time. Facilitate an appropriate ice-breaker in a group you are a part of, other than your own troop.

3.  Develop a file of games for different age groups that can be used for child care, travel, or group activities. Include indoor and outdoor games, and small-group and large-group games. Include games that can be adapted for differing abilities.

4.  Find out about games that do each of the following: increase physical strength, develop mental capabilities, and build character. Teach at least two of these games to others.

5.  What are the elements of a competitive or educational board game? Brainstorm a list with a friend. Use the list as a springboard for developing a board game for use with peers. Create the game yourself or with a "team".

6.  Learn how to play a game of strategy, such as bridge or chess.

7.  Learn at least five singing games or five jump-rope games, and be able to teach them to others.

Technology

1.  Learn to play a variety of educational, interactive computer or electronic games and share them with younger girls.

2.  Compare a game that is played in a non-tech version and in a tech version, such as chess and computer chess. Play both versions. What are the pros and cons of each version? Has technology changed the way games are played?

3.  Read two magazines that evaluate computer games and on-line games from the Internet. Note the criteria used, and compare the published evaluation with those made by friends who have played these games.

4.  Make a list of computer games you would recommend based upon criteria such as degree of difficulty, educational value, fun, and artwork. Share your list with others.

5.  Create a computer game that can be played by one or more people. Field-test it with at least four people, evaluate the feedback, and make changes.

Service Projects

1.  Develop and host a "games day" for families, younger girls, or senior citizens that introduces a variety of games in different formats.

2.  Create a box in which you can store board games, like a large treasure chest, that can be used in a homeless shelter, women's shelter, retirement center, nursing home, or day-care setting. Include games appropriate to the setting and age levels you are serving.

3.  Develop at least two instructional games for a communit

y center or troop house that can be used by adults or leaders when working with younger girls or by the younger girls themselves when exploring a contemporary issue. Be sure to work with your council program director, Service Area


director, or older girl adviser before trying out the games with girls.

4.  Interview several children or adults with different kinds of disabilities. Find out what their favorite games are, or what games they would really like to play. Work with them to develop new strategies or techniques, or to adapt a piece of equipment to play a specific game. Share this information or adaptation in your communit

y.

5.  Volunteer to help at a cultural event, such as one held in honor of a national holiday, or at a living history reenactment that features games played in the past by a specific cultural group.

Career Exploration

1. Examine some careers that involve games directly or indirectly; youth leader, referee, computer programmer, toy manufacturer, game developer, sporting goods and games retailer. Arrange to interview or job-shadow an individual whose career you are interested in. Find out what training and experience are necessary for the job.

2.  Explore some professional or interest-based organizations that are in existence because of games, such as a local chess club or on the computer. Find them through research in the library. Look for special publications, magazines, or computer bulletin boards having to do with games. Choose one organization to explore in depth or develop a list or resource file for your library, resource center, or school.

3.  As a parent or simply as an adult you will undoubtedly have to make some decisions about games on the market for children. Develop criteria for evaluating children's games that include safety, educational value, ease of playing, and fun. Make recommendations to parents or kids though a display or special program.

Generations Hand in Hand

     Skill Builders

1.   Investigate your heritage. Talk with family members and friends to get information about your family's history. Go back as many generations as you can. Ask about special family traditions, names, and foods. Make a heritage book for your family.

2.   Interview at least five people who lived in your communit

y over the past 25 to 50 years. Complete an oral history and/or pictorial record focusing on their experiences when they were your age. How is your life the same as or different from a girl of 50 years ago?

3.   Complete a project with members or residents of a senior center or home. The project could be a musical performance or a dance workshop, low-impact aerobics class or another fun physical activity.

4.  Team up with a group of senior citizens to complete a civic project such as a voter registration drive or a communit

y celebration.

5.  Invite retirees from a variety of professional fields to lend their expertise to a project you or your group are planning. Suggested projects are a health fair or career workshop.

6.  Contact your local high school and get the names of graduates from the 1930s, 1940s or 1950s and help them organize a class reunion.

7.   Invite a senior citizen or older relative to accompany you to an outing she or he would enjoy - a baseball game, mo0vie, play, or zoo. Plan a second outing based on your evaluation of your first.

8.  Find out about the elderly in different societies and cultures. What are their roles? How are they treated? Create an artwork that reflects what you have learned.

Technology

1.  The average life span of Americans today is longer than ever before. Find out about the factors that have contributed to this increase in longevity and the ability to stay active. Find out what the expected life span of someone your age is. Compare it with the life span of girls your age in other countries.

2.  Interview a few older people to find out about the technological advances they've observed over the years. What effect did these changes have on themselves or their families?

3.  Select a medical service or procedure available today that was not in existence 50 years ago, like open-heart surgery, laser treatments, hepatitis vaccines, etc. Talk with someone who has benefited from these services or procedures. Discuss their input.

4.  Teach an introductory lesson on the use of computers, including CD-ROMs, fax machines, and voice mail, to an older person who would like to keep up with the latest technology.

Service Projects

1.  Develop a service project that will help an elderly person. Here are some ideas:

• After getting permission, work with an animal shelter and your Girl Scout troop or group to bring pets to a local nursing home on a regular basis.

• Set up a program for girls to read to or write letters for the visually impaired.

• Set up a telephone network with a religious group or organization to have the homebound contacted once a day.

2.  Recruit volunteers to participate in a food-shopping program for the elderly in your communit

y. Find out if there is an agency or group that has established such a program and volunteer your time. Design a project that will provide shopping or food-delivery service.

3.  Work with a senior citizen to provide assistance to children in need. For example, visit children in a hospital or emergency day-care center.

4.  Compile a list of communit

y organizations and service for the elderly. Distribute the list to senior centers, nursing homes, or individuals. Post the list for young people to view, so they can volunteer their time too.

Career Exploration

1.  Hold a career-day workshop with retired professionals. Topics could include resume writing, interviewing, interpersonal skills in the workplace, and business etiquette. Find out who might be available for consultation and develop a list of consultants.

2.  Talk to a retired person about her volunteer work. Find out whether her volunteer work relates to a previous career or whether it represents a recently acquired interest.

3.  Learn about the field of geriatrics. How have advances in gerontology careers enhanced the quality of life of the elderly?

4.  find out about career opportunit

ies in fields offering goods and services to retired people. Write to an organization that represents people over age 50 - for example, the American Association of Retired People (AARP) - or refer to a magazine or newsletter written to this audience. Make a list of the advertisers and announcements and identify career opportunit

ies suggest to them.

Graphic Communications

     Skill Builders

1.   Look through a newspaper or magazine to find different examples of the following: an illustration, a photograph, an advertisement, a headline, and the text. Create your own newspaper or magazine pages.

2.  Look at posters and fliers in your communit

y. Analyze how designers use art, words, fonts, color, and "white space" - the unit
that contains neither art nor text. Design a poster or flier to be used as an announcement or invitation to an event, party, or family gathering. Share your creation with others.

3.  Look at some food products in a store. What's printed on the packaging? What color is most dominant on the package? Sharpen your graphic designer's eye. What colors or typefaces are pleasing? Visit your local market and make a list of five product designs that you like and five that you don't. What do you or don't you like about them? Now, design your own "package" for a favorite food.

4.  Learn a printmaking skill, such as silk-screen, linoleum cut, or woodcut. Create an original design and make at least three copies of it.

5.  The logo or trademark of an organization can reflect the mission or purpose of the company. After looking at the logos of several organizations, create two of your own. How well do they reflect the products or service of the organizations you have selected.

6.  Design your own greeting cards or note paper using a computer or your own photographs or artwork. Present the card to someone on a special occasion.

Technology

1.  Find out how photos or artwork can be placed in magazines and on T-Shirts and jigsaw puzzles. Talk with a professional photo finisher and ask her to explain the process. Share this information with two other girls.

2.  Compare two or three computer graphics programs for use in desktop publishing. To accomplish this, read newspaper or magazine articles that rate or critique the programs: or compare the descriptions on the packages; or try your hand at the programs by asking for a "demo" at a computer store. Make a list of three skills each program will let you do, three  hardware requirements of each programs, the cost of each program, and one strength and one weakness of each program. Make a recommendation to your council as to what type of graphics software it should purchase.

3.  Computers have revolutionized the publishing field. Find out what role they play in writing, designing, illustrating, and printing books, magazines, and newspapers.

4.  Find out how the technology in print shops, newspapers or publishing companies has changed in the last 25 years.

5.  Calligraphy is the ancient art of fine handwriting or penmanship. View an exhibit of calligraphy or look at samples of it in library books. Learn some lettering styles by taking a calligraphy class or studying an instruction manual. This may require that you use special pens. You can buy a beginners set or individual pens. Or you may experiment with felt-tip pens of different thicknesses. Write a letter, invitation, quote, or your favorite poem in calligraphy. Identify at least four different styles of calligraphy.

6.  Web page design is a growing field. Look at five different Web Sites and identify three specific design components used at each site. Then visit GSUSA's Web site www.girlscouts.org and compare design differences when the audience changes from adults to girls.

Service Projects

1.  Volunteer to work on your school newspaper or yearbook, your Girl Scout newsletter, or the bulletin or newsletter of another organization.

2.  Volunteer to help younger girls record their experiences in Girl Scouting. You can help them illustrate a story, document a special event, or create a graphic depiction of the year.

3.  Help your Girl Scout council or another troop or group design a Web page. Work with adults and other girls to decide on the critical issues of design (color, format, type font, photos, illustrations, etc). Collect materials that will need to be incorporated in the site. If possible, digitize the artwork and text for them.

4.  Design a letterhead for yourself or for your troop or group. Use the letterhead for invitations, request for information, and thank-you notes.

5.  Help your council or other girls advertise a special event. It can be an overnight training, special sports program, or even the Girl Scout cookie sale. Design fliers, posters, or brochures, etc, using three to five elements of design, such as composition and choice of colors.

Career Exploration

1.  Talk with a lawyer who specializes in copyright law. Find out about copyright rules, regulations, violations, and infringement. What issues are affecting copyright protections today?

2.  Job-shadow or interview a designer or commercial artist. Why did she go into this field? What was her training or education? What is a typical day like? Write up your experience and submit it to your school or communit

y newspaper. Or create a graphic representation (picture book, coloring book, cartoon) of the profession for younger girls.

3.  Arrange to visit a local college or technical school that offers a program in graphics or communications. Talk to advisers or students in that program. What are the benefits of attending such a program? What are the drawbacks? What other options are there for people interested in this field? Ask if you can sit in on one of the classes.

4.  The field of Web management/designing is relatively new. Get online and locate two or three Web sites that interest you. Email two or three questions to the Web manger or page designer about her field, her training, and her future plans.

5  Get a part-time job in a printing shop or photocopy shop. You'll have an opportunit

y to examine and compare lots of different graphic designs.

Heritage Hunt

     Skill Builders

1.  Imagine you are a historian. Your task is to create a family history chart - a family tree - for yourself or someone you know well. Start by recording the full name, maiden name (for women), and dates and places of birth, marriage, and death of each person listed on the chart. Go back as many generations as you can. Begin by interviewing family members and family friends, and recording what they tell you . Find information in birth, baptismal, marriage, or death certificates, the family Bible, etc. When you have finished, make copies of your work, for interested family members and/or your local library, historical society, or genealogical society.

2.  Develop an activity or project that brings families and friends together to celebrate their heritage and cultural diversity in a festive way. Encourage people to contribute and share something about themselves. People could bring prepared foods, music, artifacts, photos, etc.

3.  Do two activities that young women of previous generations would have done as part of their everyday lives:

• Bake bread and make butter.

• Weave on a loom.

• Gather natural fabric materials and dye them.

• Forage wild edibles with a naturalist or other trained person, and then prepare and eat what you gather.

• Plant an herb garden.

• Chop and split wood, square or hew a beam, or refinish a piece of wooden furniture.

4.  Make a collection of pictures of old buildings in your communit

y or local unit
. Include singe and multi-family dwellings, religious buildings, work sites, barns and silos, and outbuildings such as springhouses, milk houses, root cellars, or bake ovens.  Choose one building and learn all you can about it - its architecture, its use, its former inhabitants.

5.  Family traditions are often observed at special times in our lives such as birth, coming o age, marriage, or holidays. What family traditions do you observe? Find out which family traditions are no longer being observed. Are some of the family traditions observed differently now than in the past? Why? select an upcoming family tradition that will be observed and see if you can coordinate or assist in the planning of the occasion. Or revive a tradition that was once observed but has since died out.

6.  Search out information about your communit

y's heritage. Who were the first people to live in your communit

y, town, city, or county? When did various waves of settlers arrive? When was the unit
incorporated? What have been the special events in its history (influential visitors, celebrations, buildings and memorials erected, highways completed, etc)? Using the answers you have found, make a time chart or display to illustrate your communit

y's lifeline.

Technology

1.  Locate an old work site, such as a mill, factory, lumberyard, mining operation, blacksmith's shop, train depot, canal lock, wharf, fishery, farm or ranch. Find out all you can about how the work was carried out at that particular site by looking through old newspaper accounts in your local library or, if possible, talking to former owners or employees or their descendants. Find out about safety factors and working conditions such as the hours worked or lighting and ventilation inside a factory.

2.  Compare the way records such as passports, birth and wedding certificates, and driver's licenses are produced today with how they were produced 50 years ago.

3.  Make comparisons between the way people live today and 100 years ago. List the appliances and other household items in your home today that did not exist 100 years ago. Beside each item write its historical counterpart: for example, refrigerator = ice box. Share with your group in a discussion or display.

4.  How is computer technology useful in gathering historical and statistical information? What online services provide this? Put together a directory of resources and services available for historical research.

Service Projects

1.  Ask your family or older members of the communit

y to tell you stories of their lives or stories they have heard told in their families.  Compile an oral (tape-recorded) history and/or a pictorial history of these stories and share it in some special way with family members and others, perhaps during an informal presentation at your local library.

2.  Plan a project to increase communit

y awareness and pride in your cultural heritage. Examples of such a project might be a neighborhood cookbook or song book, a block festival, or an exhibit at a fair or in a library or mall. Work with others in your communit

y.

3.  Volunteer a couple of hours a week for approximately one month in your local communit

y at one of the following places: the historical preservation society, library, chamber of commerce, museum, archaeological society, bureau of vital statistics, city hall, archives, etc.

4.  Identify several examples of literature that represent the cultural diversity in your communit

y. Read selections to a group of younger Girl Scouts.

Career Exploration

1.  Choose a woman of the past whom you admire or find especially interesting and learn all you can about her. she can be one of your ancestors. Find out about her family, friends, hobbies, and work. Using your research, write a biography or make a scrapbook that represents her life.

2.  Create a collage that represents five or six careers that women in your communit

y have. highlight the careers that were not open to women 100 years ago, 50 years ago, and 25 years ago.

3.  Identify the various careers that are a legacy in your family: for example, firefighters, police officers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Find out as much as you can about why family members chose their professions. Who had an impact on their decisions?

4.  Contact your local historical society and ask about services provided to the communit

y. What kinds of jobs are available? What education and training are required for these positions?

5.  Find out about current adoption procedures in your state and how they have changed in the past three or four decades. Contact an adoption counselor, social worker, or other professionals in the field.

High Adventure

* Note all activities must be done under the guidance of someone with the required training. For high ropes or climbing, see the relevant activity checkpoints in Safety-Wise or Safety and Risk Management in Girl Scouting. Before engaging in these activities, you should obtain your council's approval of equipment, instructors, and the site.

     Skill Builders

1.   With your group, play "get acquainted" games that help people get to know each other and develop teamwork. Look for these in Games for Girl Scouts and other books that describe team-building activities. You might want to use these three resources from Project Adventure, Inc.: Silver Bullets, Cowtails and Cobras I, and Cowtails and Cobras II. Develop a selection of games to use with different ages.

2.  Learn form a challenge course instructor, a physical education teacher, an instructor at a youth or recreation facility, or another expert some simple warm-up and stretching activities to get the circulation going, increase coordination, and develop limberness and flexibility. Be able to lead at least three activities with a group.
Note: These activities should always be done prior to any climbing or physical challenge activities.

3.  Successfully complete at least three parts in a "low elements" course, such as "the Triangle," :cross the River," Fidget Ladder," or "the Bridge Is Out." How do these activities contribute to the skills of listening, problem solving, teamwork, and confidence building?

4.  Successfully complete at least three elements in a "high elements" course, such as "The Catwalk," "The Perch," "The Giant's Ladder," "The Burma Bridge," or the "Zip Line." Discuss what you have learned about yourself, including challenges you met and teamwork developed with your group.

5.  Learn from an expert basic rock-climbing techniques to employ on a rock surface or specially constructed wall, and how to rappel from the top of a rock face or a climbing wall. This includes checking out the equipment, putting on and adjusting the safety harness, tying knots used in climbing, and wearing safety gear and proper clothing. Practice using foot holds and hand holds as well as how to hold yourself and the rope, as you move right or left along the face of the rock. Learn how to use commands such as "on-belay" and "belay" and how to act as a spotter for others while they are climbing.

6.  Find out about the safety equipment used in challenge courses or rock climbing. Know about the two kinds of carabiners (regular clip=on and L-lock) and determine in what situations you would specifically need a locking or nonlocking carabiner.  Find out what kinds of braking systems are employed in belaying. Learn to "flake" a rope (string it out so it is free of coiling and twisting). Find out from an expert how to recognize signs of wear in equipment and courses themselves (for example, wear due to weathering).

Technology

1.  Search the Internet, including the World Wide Web, for information and resources on activities, equipment, and places to go if you are interested in high  adventure. Some key words to use in your search might be camp, ropes  course, climbing, recreation, and outdoor magazines.

2.  Build some simple pieces of initiative game equipments, such as "centipede walkers," a "walking A-frame", stilts, or a spider web (that can be strung between trees) and use them with a group.

3.  Design your own dream "low element" and "high element" course to scale, with at least six elements in each unit
, using such tools as toothpicks, dental floss, clay, Styrofoam, ruler, and a topographical map.

4.  Visit an American Camping Association conference or a similar meeting where you can talk with exhibitors who build challenge course. Make a list of techniques and materials that interest you.

5.  Study, evaluate, and discuss the environmental impact of an adventure course that has been constructed by utilizing existing resources (such as trees and rocks), as opposed to one that has been built using materials brought into a site (treated poles and structures).

Service Projects

1.  Develop a collection of cooperative or initiative games that can be taught to younger girls and plan a program for a meeting or camping activity.

2.  Help with the grounds maintenance or assist in the setup and breakdown of a challenge course for a period of time.

3.  Investigate the availability of challenge-course instruction for people with disabilities. Assist an organization in making its challenge course available to people with disabilities, or link people with disabilities to organizations that can accommodate their needs.

4.  Be trained as a challenge-course assistant. Learn how to assist in equipment care and storage, ensure the safety of participants, do basic emergency procedures, instruct in the successful completion of activities, and evaluate the experience with participants.

5.  Develop a brochure, a bulletin board of inspirational quotes and pictures, a Web site, or a photo record for a challenge course site or facility.

Career Exploration

1.  Find out about at least one of the following industry-standard high-adventure groups: Association for Experiential Learning, Project Adventure, Outward Bound, or National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). What kinds of careers and training are represented in the organization? Does the organization offer advanced training for trainers? Certification?

2.  Make a list of local people who might be involved in a high-adventure business, such as outdoor store personnel, equipment manufactures, designers, trip leaders, instructors. Interview tow of them. What are the special skills and challenges of such a career?

3.  Find out about people who are consultants or trainers for businesses that use challenge courses and initiatives to develop corporate or business teamwork.

4.  Investigate the use of high-adventure activities (a certified course) in the juvenile justice system in your state as an alternative or complement to lockup for juvenile offenders. Find out how successful the program has been in redirecting the way young people think about themselves and their actions. What kind of training, in addition to high-adventure training, would one need to work with this kind of program?

Home Improvement

     Skill Builders

1.   Accessories such as pillows, curtains, or collectibles can really enhance the look of a room. Create your own room accessory such as a needlepoint or hand-stitched pillow, a decorative window treatment, wall hanging, or a display of your collection.

2.  With the permission of an adult in your family, brighten up a room, a wall, or the trim (molding) around the doors, floors, and ceiling with paint! You may want to sponge paint or use stencils to add an interesting touch.

3.  Create a family gallery! With a friend or family member, collect family photos and memorabilia. Then arrange them into an attractive display for all to enjoy.

4.  Sometimes all a drab-looking piece of furniture or woodwork really needs is a face-lift! Check the condition of a piece of furniture. If the time is sturdy, it might be worth investing a little elbow grease. With the assistance of an experienced adult, try one or more of the following refurbishing methods on a piece of furniture:

• Stripping and refinishing

• Faux finishes such as marbling or crackling

• Cleaning and painting

5.  Find out how to connect a VCR or DVD player to a television, a television to a stereo system, or your house lights to a timing system. Then teach someone else in your family how to do these things, too.

6.  Learn to unclog a toilet using a plunger and a snake. Investigate how the basic mechanism inside the tank operates. When needed, use your newly acquired knowledge and skills at home.

Technology

1.  From wall and window treatments to upholstery and carpeting, there's a wide choice in fibers today. Find out about two natural fibers and two chemically created fibers. Then, learn about the process each undergoes to become fabric. If possible, obtain samples of the fibers and fabric. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each fiber? How are natural fibers chemically treated to make them stain-resistant and flame-retardant? You could consult a teacher, a carpet or fabric store owner, or a textile manufacturer's Web site to get this information. Share what you learn with others.

2.  Educate yourself about home hazards. For example, read about carbon monoxide poisoning, lead poisoning, and fire hazards. Then check the safety of the water in your home by contacting the health department for  a water-testing kit. Or install a carbon monoxide or smoke detector.

3.  Technology enables people with disabilities to live more independently in their own homes. A flashing light lets someone who is hearing-impaired know when the doorbell or phone rings. Door-knobs, doorways, sinks, and counter heights can be adjusted to allow those who use wheelchairs more independence. Find out about other technologies used in homes to increase the independence of people with disabilities. Then assess the accessibility of your home for people with disabilities.

4.  Put together a tool kit for basic home repair. Include a claw hammer, flathead screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, pliers, monkey wrench, wrenches, level, and staple gun. Demonstrate the correct use of five of these tools. When using tools, be sure to wear protective eye guards and follow safety guidelines.

5.  Learn about three safety features found in houses or apartments today. Share information with others about how these features work and how to maintain them.

6.  Investigate home water filter systems - those installed under the sink as well as container-based systems. How often do filters have to be changed? Do these systems remove all contaminants? What are the costs? Make a poster displaying the benefits of each system.

Service Projects

1.  With your Girl Scout troop or group, plan a "spruce-up" party for a nursing home, children's center, or another place of your choosing. Paint walls and install shelving, as needed. Use some of your skills to paint furniture or decorate windows.

2.  Volunteer for a weekend construction program. Make sure you follow all safety guidelines as you work with an adult.

3.  Make and donate a "design box" for younger girls in your council. Include in each box such items as a color wheel, graph paper, pencils, T-squares, paint sample cards, and fabric swatches.

4.  Organize a home safety workshop for parents or guardians of infants and young children. Ask a child psychologist and pediatrician, or another child safety expert, to address the group and answer questions.

Career Exploration

1.  Find out what training is required in your state to be  a licensed carpenter, plumber, or electrician. Explore different ways of obtaining that training. Talk with a member of that trade and find out what she would suggest for girls interested in that field.

2.  The best way to find out if a job is right for you is to try it! Volunteer as an apprentice painter, carpenter, or decorator.

3.  Shadow an interior decorator. Find out about her training, how she solicits clients, and how she reconciles their budgets with their decorating preferences. What other type of professionals work inside the home to improve it? Look at related books and magazines at a bookstore.

4.  Design a "dream" room or house to scale. Use your creativity as you paint, wallpaper, and furnish this space.

5.  Get a part-time job at a local hardware, fabric, or home-decorating store.

Horse Sense

     Skill Builders

1.  At a riding academy, stable, or riding program, learn how to do the following activities safely: groom, lead, tie, bridle, saddle, and mount a horse. Learn how to post, to go from walk to canter, to gallop, and to turn left and right on a horse. Find out how to hold a horse for a farrier (blacksmith) or veterinarian. See page 91 in Safety-Wise.

2.  Identify six safety rules to use on and off the horse and in the stable, ring, or on the trail. Create posters, signs, etc, listing these rules. Offer to post them to help others.

3.  Help plan and/or take part in a group overnight trail ride. Properly pack gear that will be carried by the horses. Take part in the care and maintenance of the horses and their tack while on the trail. Or demonstrate your skills as a rider during at least three group trail rides of one hour or longer. Perhaps pack and carry a trail meal with you.

4.  Learn about horse breeding. Talk to a horse breeder or visit the library and read a book about horse breeding. Select one breed of horse that interests you and research its history. Identify essential characteristics of the breed. Make a drawing of the ideal horse in this breed.

5.  Visit a library or museum to learn about two topics from this list, or a topic of your own:

• Mythology and horses

• Horse images in art

• How horses were introduced to North America, and their effect on the American Indian culture.

• The domestication of horses.

• Horses in the lives of royalty or gentry.

      Create a photo essay or visual and text display of your findings.

6.  Learn to assess a horse physically and temperamentally. Consider personality traits, physical attributes, age, training, and learning ability. Find out what faults a horse might have and how to correct them. Using this information, create on paper a "perfect horse," listing the qualities suitable for you and your riding style. Or visit a ranch or stable and select a horse to ride based on these qualities.

Technology

1.  Find out how modern science has  contributed to the health, breeding, training, and care of horses. What technology was involved?

2.  Learn about tack (bridle and saddle) and how to care for it. Name two or three different saddles, bits, girths, and pads. Which would you choose for your riding style? Explain to a group why some equipment is better-suited to particular riding styles. Explain and/or demonstrate the different types of tack and equipment and how to care for it to a group of beginning riders. Be able to  recognize worn and unsafe tack. Or enter a horse show or rodeo. Identify five pieces of the equipment that you will need. List five criteria that the judges will be looking for in the particular event in which you will be competing.

3.  With permission, visit two or three stables and interview the owners about as many of the following as you can:

• Boarding prices.

• Stall accommodations.

• Storage of hay and feed.

• Number of horses.

• Feeding schedules.

• Types of riding rings and trail systems.

• Amount of pasture.

• Types of bedding.

• Method of manure disposal.

• Quality and amount of water easily available to horses.

    Keep a record of your findings, and list the technology that is used in the care, feeding, and hygiene of horses.

4.  For a minimum of two months, track the financial responsibilities involved in owning a horse. Include the cost of rent or purchase, tack, farrier's bills, veterinarian's bills, training, supplies, food, etc. You may also need to include other expenses, such as show fees, riding instruction, and transportation, if they apply.

5.  If you have access to the Internet at home, at school, or at the public library, track information about horses. Print it out, and share the reading material with friends or fellow riders.

Service Projects

1.  Volunteer to assist in the care of horses at a local animal shelter or elsewhere. Or find out about programs that protect wild horses. Find a way to support the effort, and volunteer your services for at least one day.

2.  Find out how horses are used in therapeutic programs for people with disabilities, what the programs entail, and how horses can help. Locate a nearby stable where there is such a program (or any horse-related program that helps people with disabilities), and find out about volunteer opportunit

ies.

3..  Make a bibliography of story books about horses. Include illustrated and multicultural books. Select your favorites and read them to a group of younger girls. Share your own experiences with them.

4.  If you have your own horse, think of ways in which you and your horse can benefit someone else. Advertise your services by word-of-mouth or by posting fliers.

Career Exploration

1.  Find out about three careers related to horses and explore three of them. Find out about the training required, salaries, job market, etc. To what professional organizations do members of each field belong? Give a presentation of your findings to a troop or group.

2.  Follow a veterinarian on her horse calls to observe what she looks for when treating a horse. Ask her about the advantages and disadvantages of her career, and what she likes best about it.

3.  Shadow a horse trainer. Learn about her daily responsibilities. How do they differ from the responsibilities of a veterinarian?

4.  Attend a rodeo or visit a library and get information about rodeos. List three different rodeo careers that involve horses. Select one that interests you and interview or read about a woman working in that career. Fin out about her skills, and about the benefits and challenges, even dangers, of her work.

5.  Find out about the skills involved in the production or restoration of carousel horses, such as carpentry, woodcarving, designing, and painting. Visit your local carousel for information. Some cities have carousel organizations that restore old carousels in city parks. See your local historical society or chamber of commerce. Make a collage of carousel horses using original photographs, drawings, or magazine illustrations. At a carousel near you, treat yourself and a young child to a ride.

6.  Interview a mounted police officer. Learn about the role of horses in police work and how they are trained.

Inventions & Inquiry

     Skill Builders

1. Do you feel that sometimes your brain is idling in neutral? There are actually many activities that you can do to put yourself in a creative frame of mind. Try at least one of the following warm-ups or develop some of your own:

• Brainstorm a list of 10 inventions you would like to see.

• Take two objects and list all of their uses. Then visualize the two objects combined as one. What new uses could this object have?

• Imagine people as musical instruments, animals as machines, or any other paired categories. This is a mental warm-up exercise. Be creative and free-floating with your ideas.

2.  Spend a week listing problems that need to be solved at home, at school, or in your communit

y. Be a detective and brainstorm a lot of solutions. Record and date your ideas in a journal. Next, focus on one of your problems and the list of solutions you have written out for that problem. Has this problem been addressed already, and how? To find out, you will need to do some research. Do you have a better solution? Will this be something people will want to use?

3.  Create an invention. In  a journal, make a detailed sketch of the invention. Label all the parts. Go on to develop a three-dimensional model of your invention. Then develop a prototype, or working model, of your invention. Do a final sketch, including the dimensions. Add a description of the materials. Give your invention a catchy name that suggests its function. The right name can help you to market your invention. Brainstorm possible choices of names with family and friends.

4.  Find out about he patenting process. What does it mean when a patent is pending? What is the difference between utility, design, and plant patents? What are trademarks? What are trade secrets? Where do you look up patents?

5.  Develop an advertising campaign for your own or someone else's invention. Complete two of the following: write a radio or TV ad; write an ad for a newspaper; or make a video. Present your advertising campaign to others and ask them to give you feedback. Did they want to buy the product? Why or why not?

Technology

1.  Survey resources for inventing on the World Wide Web. (Key words include inventions, inventors, and patent.) Look for an online chat group for inventors and talk with others interested in inventing. Visit the National Inventors Hall of Fame online and find information about women inventors.

2.  Explain how changes in technology have altered at least two inventions in terms of function or design: for example, eyeglasses are now made with thin plastic lenses and have lightweight frames. Do some research in order to compare old and current models.

3.  Investigate the role of research and development ("R and D") in creating a new product. How long does it generally take for a product to get from the drawing board to the consumer? How much of a successful company's budget is devoted to R and D? Which kinds of projects are funded by the government? Discuss these and other questions about product development in a troop or group meeting.

4.  Attend a new products exposition, a science and engineering fair, or an inventions fair. Look for new or improved products. If possible, interview the inventors and find out as much as you can about their inventions and the processes of inventing, patenting, and marketing.

5.  Ask people in five different fields what they foresee as the most valuable inventions for the years beyond 2000, that is, what are the most important problems that need solutions in the future? Take one problem that someone suggests and, in a group, brainstorm the kinds of training and knowledge a person might need in order to address the problem and "invent" a solution.

Service Projects

1.  Start an inventor's club through your school, troop, or group. All it takes is you, two or three friends, and a lot of good ideas! Put together an inventors' "fair" at which members of your club and others can highlight their inventions.

2.  Many women have made scientific discoveries and have come up with inventions in this and previous centuries. Create a show, play, or visual display to celebrate women inventors for an audience of young women.

3.  With the help of an expert or consultant, invent or improve something that addresses a problem that a person with a disability has to face in her life. For example,  for a child who has difficulty writing, create a pencil with a special grip. Perhaps ask her teacher for ideas. Get feedback from the people you are seeking to serve by testing your product with them.

4.  Create a toy for young children. It can be educational or may just appeal to their sense of fun. First, visits local toy stores and see what's available. Be sure to consider safety issues for young children. Then make a prototype of your toy and with adult help test it with children. Does the toy appeal to the children? Do you need to refine the idea? Get some friends together and build several more models to donate to the program or center.

Career Exploration

1.  Read about inventors in at least two books. Find the answers to questions such as: What started them in the invention process? What career choices did they make and how did they succeed? How did they turn "Failures" into successes?

2.  Investigate courses to take in high school and college to help you with a career direction in inventing. Try to set up, with your school counselor's help, an appropriate internship experience. Draw a one, five, or ten-year time line for yourself. Look at it once a week. Add to it or revise it as you get new ideas and information.

3.  Think about the kinds of careers that may relate to inventing: patent attorney, product designer, graphic artist, researcher, chemist, engineer, film animator, computer game designer. Select two that interest you and find out more about them.

4.  Frequently, inventors specialize in a field of interest. For example, if you like sports, you can interview someone who designs sports equipment, such as tennis rackets, in-line skate, or snow boards. How do they redesign equipment? Have they ever designed equipment for a new sport? What was that experience like? If new materials were used, how were they made?

Invitation to the Dance

     Skill Builders

1.   Design or select a warm-up exercise or routine to prepare your body for participation in a dance activity. Include at least three exercise to stretch and strengthen the muscles and joints you will be using when dancing.

2.  Learn five social dances, including three that were popular with your parent's or grandparents; generation. How are their dances similar to or different from those of your generation? Organize an intergenerational dance or a dance form another era: for example, a 1950's rock and roll dance.

3.  Learn five folk dances. Such dances reflect how the cultural customs of many people who emigrated to the unit

ed States became part of the traditions of regions of this country. Find out about the cultural roots of at least two dances you have learned. Teach at least two of these dances to others and explain something about their history and background.

4.  Learn three dances from three countries in different parts of the world. How do these dances express the life, customs, and values of the cultures they represent? Teach or demonstrate at least one of the dances to a group. If possible, wear the traditional costume for this dance: for example, the colorful dramatic costume of the flamenco dancer from Spain, a Chinese dragon costume, etc.

5.  Explore dance concepts, such as movement and rhythm, that are involved in one of the following sports: ice skating, ice dancing, gymnastics, or rhythmic gymnastics. Learn and execute at least three moves in one of these sports that involve dance movements.

6.  Choreograph your own dance routine. Select the music and style of dance you will use. Perform your dance for someone else.

Technology

1.  Find out about the resources and materials that go into a dance performance. find out more about dance shoes and dance surfaces and whether they have changed over the years.

2.  Find out more about he role of modern medicine in helping dancers perform at their peak. What kinds of inquires are common to dancers and what precautions do they take to prevent them?

3.  Find out from a fashion designer or a salesperson in a ballet store about the best and latest dance wear. Share  her recommendations or knowledge with someone else.

4.  Did you know that there's a language you can learn in which you can record your choreography? It's called Labanotation. Interview a dancer or choreographer who can show and explain Labanotation to you. Or research this system at a local or performing arts library.

5.  Arrange a behind-the-scenes day with a dancer or dance troupe. Find out about the preparation required for a performance.

Service Projects

1.  Share your love for dance with the young and "young at heart." Demonstrate a dance or dances you have learned and explain something about them in a presentation to younger children or senior citizens.

2.  With your troop or group or others, put on a folk, square, or country dance. This could be a Girl Scout council wide event. Invite the communit

y to join in the fun. Learn the dances, select the music and the space, designate a caller if needed, and step lively!

3.  Teach Daisy or Brownie Girl Scouts the elements of dance by having them choreograph movements and steps to a song or a series of sounds. For example, have Daisy Girl Scouts pretend to be jungle animals while playing original or taped music that incorporates jungle sounds!

4.  Working with experts in the field, create a rhythmic cymetrics program, which incorporates movements adapted for people with disabilities. You could supply bulbs with handgrips, adapt ribbon or rope movements for people in wheelchairs, and under inflate the balls so arthritic hands can use them.

5.  Volunteer with an organization that brings dance classes and performance to disadvantaged youth. If no such organization exists in your unit
, start a class through your Girl Scout council, place of worship, or in an after-school program.

Career Exploration

1.  Are you serious about choreography? How do you develop all those steps to a dance? What sort of training do you need? Go to the library or better yet, go the source; a choreographer or dancer who can share with you directly. Or contact a college or conservatory to get information about dance courses.

2.  Read or find out about three famous professional dancers, past or present. Learn about their background and their training. What special challenges did they have to overcome on their road to success? What other ways are they involved in the arts: for instance, do they appear on television or in the theater?

3.  See a dance performance and read the program to find out the job titles of people involved in the production. Can you imagine for yourself a career as a choreographer? Artistic director? Are you unfamiliar with some of these tittles? Do research at the library or ask a professional in the world of dance for answers to any questions you might have. You may want to  create an illustrated booklet on dance and dance-related careers.

4.  All dancers work with music. Explore careers in composing, recording, and performing music expressly for dance.

5.  Brainstorm six to eight careers or jobs related to dance, such as physical and dance therapists, teachers, chiropractors, and choreographers. Make a picture book, cartoon, play, video, or game that would expose young girls to these careers.

It's About Time

     Skill Builders

1. Many cultures mark the passage of time with the observance of important religious, political, and social events. Illustrate or describe how there ancient civilizations kept track of the passage of time. Or compare the Hebrew, Mayan, Chinese, and Gregorian calendars with one another. What themes do different calendars have in common: for example, time, seasons, or celebrations of the New Year?

2.  There are many devices that keep track of time, such as an hourglass, sundial, or atomic clock. Someone even made a flower clock, based on the ties at which various flowers open. Construct your own timekeeper by using regularly occurring events you see or experience, or by using sand, water, shadows, etc. Other things you may want to use are plastic soda bottles, pots, cups, rulers, tape, cork stoppers, cardboard, Ping Pong balls, marbles, or toys.

3.  Can you name three regular time cycles in nature (such as the lunar cycle)? Remember that humans are part of nature, too! Devise a system for keeping time based on one of these cycles. Investigate three ways in which animals respond to changes in the time of the year.

4.  Compare the ages of rites of passages in three or four cultures. Determine what you think was or will be your most significant rite of passage.

5.  Compare the use off rhythm and time values of notes in four styles of music (such as reggae, rap, calypso, waltz, polka, flamenco, and salsa). Does how long a note is held or the beat affect how we feel or what we do?

6.  Are you feeling as if there isn't enough time in the day? Read pages 118 - 120 in A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts for helpful hints on time management or complete the activities on page 87 of the Cadette Girl Scout Handbook. To help you make the most of your time, create a time clock of all of the activities you do on a weekly basis. To make the clock, draw a "pie" with twelve slices. Color in all the times that are taken and label them: for example, 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. for  "sleep". Any time left is "free time". Make sure that your extracurricular time includes "prime time" to plan, organize, relax, and exercise. Know that you have limited free time, so use it well!

Technology

1.  Use a library's resources, such as its computer search program or microfiche collection, to help you find fashion pictures in magazines and newspapers of another ear. Pick a decade and create a theme event (a retro fashion show, a costume dance or party, etc) that illustrates the dress and music of that time.

2.  Use camera equipment to take a time-lapse photograph.

3.  Find out about the technology of quartz crystal timepieces. Consult a watchmaker, or watch repair person, a mineralogist, or a book on the subject.

4.  List four ways in which time keeping devices have been used in medicine. Draw a picture of these devices to display at a troop meeting or a special event.

5.  Find out about he principle behind an atomic clock. Why and how is an atomic clock used?               

Service Projects

1.  Has technology lived up to its promise of freeing us from drudgery, or have advances in machines and communications systems simply meant more time in which to do more work? Interview people of different generations and compare how much time each spent / spends on work and leisure activities. How do people of different generations feel about their quality of life?

2.  Set up and manage a "time bank" to provide services for people in your communit

y who have special needs. Here's how it would work: Girls "deposit" hours in the "bank" that can be "withdrawn" by those in need of their time. For example, hours can be withdrawn by an elderly or homebound person who needs someone to shop for groceries or walk a pet. You may have to open various "accounts" (such as reading, chess playing, letter writing) to match a girl's interest with the persons in need. The girls receive "interest" in the form of smiles, hugs, friendship, and appreciation form the people using their services.

3.  After consulting with teachers, family members, or reading about the subject, make a time line or chart of two or three of the developmental states a child goes through, such as learning to talk or read.  Include the kinds of activities and toys that enhance development, and the approximate age at which a child reaches a particular milestone, Donate the chart to parents you know, a day-care center, a communit

y center, a school, etc.

4.  Organize a call-in service for the elderly of your communit

y to help them to keep their appointments and take their medications on time. You might want to call them once a day at the same time.

Career Exploration

1.  Design two or three articles of clothing for a woman of another ear, such as the Roaring Twenties or the Victorian ear. Do your research through books, magazines, museum displays, or by contacting a local college's history department.

2.  Find out what a time management consultant does by interviewing one or reading about one. Check psychology or business magazines and journals. Write a job description that you think fits the consultant's title based on your research or your own ideas.

3.   Interview four people (an educator, health professional, musician, scientist, etc) who have different careers and find out how they make use of time in their work. Questions to consider: How do self-employed workers such as business people or artists deal with challenges such as deadlines? How do workers affected by the season, such as a restaurant owner or tour guide, manage their time and finances?

4.  Women who work both outside and inside the home may feel as if they are working at least two jobs. Workers of all types may feel they have too much to do. Create a time management plant that incorporates exercise and leisure activities for today's busy women, and ask at least three women you know to try the plan for a week. Have them share the results with you at a troop or group meeting.

5.  Create your own personal time line. Chart where you'd like to be and what you hope you will have accomplished one, five, and ten years from now. You can use a graph, a chart, or even a photo collage to illustrate your time line. Share it with your family or with your troop or group members.

Just Jewelry

          Skill Builders

1.   * Activity #1 is REQUIRED before doing other activities in this section.
Renderings or sketches of jewelry are usually the important first step in developing an item of jewelry. Look through magazines, browse through stores, and notice what others are wearing. Collect a sampling of photos, ads, or sketches of jewelry styles that appeal to you. Then draw an item of jewelry that you would like to have. Draw the piece of jewelry to size and indicate the materials that you will use. Use this rendering to execute a design in one of the other Skill Builders activities.

2.  Put together a toolbox of equipment that you will need to make jewelry. Consult a craft book or talk with someone who works with jewelry to learn about some handy tools. Here are some items to consider: super glue, white glue, polymer clay, assorted wire, paper, pencil, polishing cloth, sandpaper , assorted threads and cording, paints, varnish, wire cutters, small needle-nose pliers, metal snips, and jewelry findings. (See activity #3). Your kit will vary depending on the kind of designs you will do.

3.  Learn about jewelry findings. These are jewelry elements such as the clasps that close a bracelet or necklace, the settings for stones, and the backs for pins of earrings. Investigate the different types of finding that you have on your own jewelry. Expand your search to include what friends may have or what you see on items in stores. Find at least five different types of clasps used on bracelets or necklaces. Investigate where you can buy simple, inexpensive findings or select a type (for example, a necklace catch) that you can make. If you do not have ready access to material, think of at least two ways to improvise a finding with items in your home. Make an item of jewelry using findings.

4.  Although jewelry is often crafted from precious metals and gems, it can also be made from inexpensive or easy-to-obtain material. Use your imagination to craft a piece of jewelry from a commonly found item. Here is  list of common items that can be crafted into jewelry: buttons, safety pins, shells, nuts, paper clips, wood pieces, heavy foil, paper, stones, sea glass, pottery fragments, fabric pieces, bottle caps, bolts, or washers. You can decorate materials with paints, nail polish, pens and markers, glitter,, or sequins. Mix and match materials.

5.  Beads have been one of the most common jewelry elements from past to present. Assemble a collection of beads. Recycle beads from old necklaces and bracelets into new designs. Make your own beads using a variety of materials such as polymer clay that can be baked in a home oven, papier-mâché, self hardening clay, or some other material that can be formed into beads (for example, coiled wire). Make a necklace or bracelet from your bead collection.

6.  Make a pin or pendant using a combination of at least three different materials. For example, you can embroider a design and sew some small beads or buttons on a piece of heavy fabric, or paint and glue seashells on a piece of wood.

7.  Do some research on the history of jewelry. Track a particular type of jewelry or find out more about jewelry of a particular culture or period. Display what you have learned in an attractive way.

Technology

1.  Professional jewelers use many tools and techniques to complete their work. Work with a jeweler or knowledgeable person on a piece of jewelry using one or more of the following techniques: Soldering, mold making, forming metal by twisting, hammering, pulling, and heating: casting metal; stone setting; metal engraving.

2.  Learn about metals commonly used in jewelry making: copper, brass, silver, gold, and platinum. Compare the characteristics of each and determine why a particular metal might be used over another. Some terms to consider are: ore, malleability, tensile strength, melting point, oxidation, tarnish, and hardness. Select an item of jewelry that you own or would like to own and find out more about its metal composition.

3.  The colorful stones and gems used in jewelry are minerals and crystals selected for their looks, color, luster, ability to reflect or refract light, hardness, and durability. Arrange a collection of 20 or more stones, minerals, gems, or crystals that are used in jewelry making. Select photographs, illustrations, or, when possible, actual samples of the minerals. Become familiar with the properties of the stones, minerals, etc. Don't just consider the gems that may be familiar. Chalcedony, jade, hematite, lapis lazuli, opal, carnelian, onyx, jasper, agate, chrysoprase, turquoise, malachite, and beryl are all used in jewelry.

4.  Find out about technological advance that have occurred in jewelry composition and manufacture. Synthetic stones, new metal alloys, and electroforming have resulted in items of jewelry not possible years ago. Find examples of jewelry created through these new techniques and compare them with pieces done years ago.

Service Projects

1.  Contribute an item of jewelry you have made for a troop money-earning project or some similar worthy cause.

2.  Help a group of younger girls with a jewelry craft project. Design your own activity or consult with a leader on the type of project that would work with the group.

3.  Help a group of younger Girl Scouts earn the Jeweler badge or the Art to Wear Try-It.

4.  Many jewelers belong to craft guilds or art leagues. Find out if these is an association for artists or jewelers in your unit
. Contact it to find out more about how members help each other. Volunteer to help.

Career Exploration

1.  Jewelry making can be as simples as one artisan crafting and selling her own work, or a huge business that involves industrial mining, or large retail operations. Identify 10 or more careers related to jewelry making. Learn about a career that interests you.

2.  Start a business selling jewelry you have made. Create a display and determine what your pieces should cost. Do not forget to factor in the time it takes to make each piece, as well as the cost of materials.

3.  Find out about schools that offer courses in jewelry crafting and related fields. Write and get a course catalog that outlines the different classes available. Keep this for future reference.

4.  Interview a professional jeweler. Develop a short profile of the training and experience that led to her current job. Find out what are the most rewarding aspects of the work as well as the negative aspect, if any.

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