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Girl Scout Astronomy Badge



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 27th 05, 05:20 PM
Chris L Peterson
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Default Girl Scout Astronomy Badge

There was some discussion here a few months ago about the Boy Scout
Astronomy Merit Badge requirements. As it happens, I'm helping my niece
with her Girl Scout requirements, which make the Boy Scout requirements
look like graduate school in comparison.

Some examples:

Tools of the Trade - Learn the parts of a telescope and how to use one.
If possible, use a tracking telescope or look through telescopes with
different magnitudes.

Star Stamps - Address an envelope to yourself or a friend, including
your solar system and galaxy address.

Time for the Moon - The best time to observe the moon is when it is
full, or almost full.

At the bottom of this page of requirements are three images- one of
which is horribly wrong: http://www.cloudbait.com/misc/gscoutastro.jpg

Really, this whole thing is pretty pathetic.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
  #2  
Old July 27th 05, 05:51 PM
Robin Leadbeater
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Default

Hi Chris,

Perhaps you can offer your services to rewrite it. I had similar problems
with a Brownie Star Gazer Badge a couple of years back (7-10yr Girl Scouts
in the UK)

Quote:

"The moon is the brightest object in the night sky. Unlike stars, it does
not
give off light of its own. Its 'light' is a reflection of the sun's rays.
The moon appears as shapes (or phases) when the Earth comes between the sun
and the moon, casting a shadow. The moon completes its orbit of the earth
every 29 days. The current phase of the moon along with its setting and
rising times can usually be found in newspapers. "

I corrected the text and provided new diagrams - not sure if they used them
mind you.

Robin

"Chris L Peterson" wrote in message
...
There was some discussion here a few months ago about the Boy Scout
Astronomy Merit Badge requirements. As it happens, I'm helping my niece
with her Girl Scout requirements, which make the Boy Scout requirements
look like graduate school in comparison.

Some examples:

Tools of the Trade - Learn the parts of a telescope and how to use one.
If possible, use a tracking telescope or look through telescopes with
different magnitudes.

Star Stamps - Address an envelope to yourself or a friend, including
your solar system and galaxy address.

Time for the Moon - The best time to observe the moon is when it is
full, or almost full.

At the bottom of this page of requirements are three images- one of
which is horribly wrong: http://www.cloudbait.com/misc/gscoutastro.jpg

Really, this whole thing is pretty pathetic.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com



  #3  
Old July 27th 05, 06:14 PM
Brian Tung
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Default

Robin Leadbeater wrote:
Quote:

"The moon is the brightest object in the night sky. Unlike stars, it does
not give off light of its own. Its 'light' is a reflection of the sun's rays.
The moon appears as shapes (or phases) when the Earth comes between the sun
and the moon, casting a shadow. The moon completes its orbit of the earth
every 29 days. The current phase of the moon along with its setting and
rising times can usually be found in newspapers. "

I corrected the text and provided new diagrams - not sure if they used them
mind you.


Well, it's not *terrible*, right? Only one complete bonehead remark in
the set.

The weird thing is that I've met some scout leaders who really are
interested in the night sky, and I find it hard to believe that they
wouldn't have sent corrections along, too. Wouldn't you, in their
position?

--
Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt
  #4  
Old July 27th 05, 06:13 PM
CLT
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At the bottom of this page of requirements are three images- one of
which is horribly wrong: http://www.cloudbait.com/misc/gscoutastro.jpg


Yuke. I was expecting some funny picture that you had inserted. You're
serious and apparently so are they. You're right, makes the boys scout stuff
look like grad school.

So I guess if you have a daughter and want her to go into a science field,
you have to keep her out of girl scouts.

:-(

Chuck Taylor
Do you observe the moon?
Try http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lunar-observing/

To reply, remove Delete and change period com to period net
************************************************** ************




Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com



  #5  
Old July 27th 05, 07:52 PM
Starlord
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look through telescopes with different magnitudes. ??? me thinks they used
the wrong word. What mag would my Babylon 8 be I wonder?


Time for the Moon - The best time to observe the moon is when it is
full, or almost full.


Oh how little they know.


--

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Astronomy Net Online Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net



"Chris L Peterson" wrote in message
...
There was some discussion here a few months ago about the Boy Scout
Astronomy Merit Badge requirements. As it happens, I'm helping my niece
with her Girl Scout requirements, which make the Boy Scout requirements
look like graduate school in comparison.

Some examples:

Tools of the Trade - Learn the parts of a telescope and how to use one.
If possible, use a tracking telescope or look through telescopes with
different magnitudes.

Star Stamps - Address an envelope to yourself or a friend, including
your solar system and galaxy address.

Time for the Moon - The best time to observe the moon is when it is
full, or almost full.

At the bottom of this page of requirements are three images- one of
which is horribly wrong: http://www.cloudbait.com/misc/gscoutastro.jpg

Really, this whole thing is pretty pathetic.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com



  #6  
Old July 28th 05, 04:09 AM
Marty
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That is depressing. You'd think they could do MUCH better than that.
And then later, the magazines aimed at these girls will be chock full of
astrology, numerology, psychics, etc. And people wonder why females are
under represented in the scientifically oriented professions...
Marty

  #7  
Old July 28th 05, 11:30 AM
Hilton Evans
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"Marty" wrote in message ...
That is depressing. You'd think they could do MUCH better than that.
And then later, the magazines aimed at these girls will be chock full of
astrology, numerology, psychics, etc. And people wonder why females are
under represented in the scientifically oriented professions...


.. doesn't explain why they're pouring into law and medicine
or why more females attend college then males in the U.S.

--

Hilton Evans
---------------------------------------------------------------
Lon -71° 04' 35.3"
Lat +42° 11' 06.7"
---------------------------------------------------------------
Webcam Astroimaging
http://home.earthlink.net/~hiltoneva...troimaging.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------
ChemPen Chemical Structure Software
http://www.chempensoftware.com

  #8  
Old July 31st 05, 12:02 AM
Marty
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Default

Marty" wrote in
message
news:18504-42E84C67-55@storefull-333
7.bay.webtv.net...


That is depressing. You'd think they
could do MUCH better than that. And
then later, the magazines aimed at
these girls will be chock full of
astrology, numerology, psychics, etc.
And people wonder why females are
under represented in the scientifically
oriented professions...


=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0.. doesn't explain why they're
pouring into law and medicine =A0 or why
more females attend college then males
in the U.S.
--
Hilton Evans

I'm definitely not implying that females are in any way intellectually
inferior to men, and I don't claim to know if any differences in
interests and aptitudes are caused by nature or nurture. It's
undeniable that for whatever reasons, females and males tend to
gravitate toward different areas of study. (Thank God I'm not the
president of Harvard... this is verboten discussion...)
ANYWAY, I'm surprised, and almost offended, that the feminist
organizations haven't raised more hell about what girls are exposed to
in their popular magazines. Maybe oppression by all males is just an
easier, more satisfying target.
Marty

  #9  
Old July 29th 05, 02:45 AM
Glenn Holliday
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Posts: n/a
Default

Chris L Peterson wrote:

There was some discussion here a few months ago about the Boy Scout
Astronomy Merit Badge requirements. As it happens, I'm helping my niece
with her Girl Scout requirements, which make the Boy Scout requirements
look like graduate school in comparison.


The errors are horrid. On the bright side, which age group is
this badge for? I've also helped with the Cub Scout astronomy
achievements. They're extremely basic, but pitched for 7-10
year old boys. The Boy Scouts get into their merit badges
at age 12 or older.

--
Glenn Holliday
  #10  
Old August 1st 05, 02:33 AM
canopus56
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Default

Chris L Peterson wrote:
There was some discussion here a few months ago about the Boy Scout
Astronomy Merit Badge requirements. As it happens, I'm helping my niece
with her Girl Scout requirements, which make the Boy Scout requirements
look like graduate school in comparison.


Here are some activities for the boy scout merit badge requirement
(ages 11-17), which is publically available on the net at -
http://www.usscouts.org/mb/mb022.html

For boys 11-17:
=====================
3. With the aid of diagrams (or real telescopes if available), do each
of the following:
a. Explain why binoculars and telescopes are important astronomical
tools. Demonstrate or explain how these tools are used.
b. Describe the similarities and differences of several types of
astronomical telescopes.
c. Explain the purposes of at least three instruments used with
astronomical telescopes.
.. . . .
5. Do the following:
a. list the names of the five most visible planets. Explain which ones
can appear in phases similar to lunar phases and which ones cannot, and
explain why.
b. Find out when each of the five most visible planets that you
identified in requirement 5a will be observable in the evening sky
during the next 12 months, then compile this information in the form of
a chart or table. Update your chart monthly to show whether each planet
will be visible during the early morning or in the evening sky.
=====================

The analogous merit badge at the girl scouts is for a different age
group - the Junior Girl Scouts ages 8-11 and is titled "Sky Search".
Compare -
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs...ist/junior.asp
with
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs...list/11_17.asp

The requirements for the junior girl scout merit badge apparently are
unavailable on the web. It appears the GSA wants you to buy the Junior
GSA Handbook to find out.

From one outstanding web based program at the Alder Planetarium of

Chicago, Ill., one can infer that the requirements are similar -
http://hou.lbl.gov/~vhoette/GirlScouts/actaquay.html
http://hou.lbl.gov/~vhoette/GirlScouts/

For girls 8-11:
=====================
6. Learn about the differences in the brightness of stars.
a. Distinguish stars by their brightness.
b. Model the magnitude system used by astronomers to classify star
brightness.
c. Compare the brightness of stars with auto aperture, an image
analysis tool.
d. Find stars and their brightness counts by using an image analysis
tool called 'FIND'.

In one requirement, Activity #6, the Junior GSA program appears to
exceed the Eagle Scout merit badge program - girls study star colors
and observe stars through different colored filters.
http://hou.lbl.gov/~vhoette/GirlScou...l#Star%20Color
http://hou.lbl.gov/~vhoette/GirlScouts/StarColor/

6. Learn about the differences in the color of stars.
a. Notice the color of stars in photographs.
b. Experiment with filters to see how they block colors or let colors
pass through.

The Alder program even has an imaging processing program to process
FITS images.
http://sunra.lbl.gov/~vhoette/ToolBox/

The Girl Scout program for age 11-17 does not have an analogous "Sky
Search" merit badge. The activity for that age group is called "Space
Exploration" - which focuses in part on science career exploration. I
was unable to find any trustworthy lists of the activities for that age
bracket.

For either Boy Eagle Scouts or Girl Scouts, the Hands-On-Universe site
at the Alder Planetarium looks like a good activity resource.
http://hou.lbl.gov/~vhoette/Explorations/

I am not involved with either boy or girl scouting. Should I be
speaking out of ignorance of both fine programs, any corrections or
clarifications would be appreciated.

Chris, hope the Alder site helps with your niece.

- Canopus56

P.S. -

At the bottom of this page of requirements are three images- one of
which is horribly wrong: http://www.cloudbait.com/misc/gscoutastro.jpg


You mean the terminator rising south to north instead of east to west?
LOL!

 




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