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download
Download the booklet from TroopLeaderHub
Print out the booklet. Cut the pages along the dotted line the in center of the page. Staple on the left side.
meet
Meet with your troop and go through the booklet to meet the minimum requirements of the badge!
Suggestions for Using this Booklet
For this booklet you should prep with 2 things:
1) Find out when the next New Moon and Full Moon will be.
2) Have craft supplies so each girl can craft their own telescope (non-working, just a craft that looks like a telescope)
Pages 1-2: About the Sun
The first two pages are about the sun. Here we discuss how Earth moves around the sun. Earth also rotates as it moves around the sun. This rotation gives us "Days". Where the side of Earth faces the sun it's daytime. The other half is then experiencing nighttime.
We talk about as Earth rotates, it looks like the Sun is moving. But it's not. We're moving around the Sun.
We can track this rotation by looking at shadows. Have a small object that stands about an inch off the ground - a good object would be something alone the lines of a Lego person.
If you're able, you can go outside and do this over a few hours. If not, you can also use flashlights to simulate the Sun.
Have the kids place their little object on the dot on page 2. Trace the shadow the onject makes. Now wait an hour and do it again, or move the flashlight simulating the Sun's movement in the sky. Have them trace the shadow again. Repeat once more.
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Pages 3-4: About the Moon
Now we'll discuss the Moon. As we spin around the Sun, the Moon spins around us. Based on where it is on it's trip around Earth, we may see the Moon glow. This glow of the Moon is actually us seeing the Sun shining on the Moon's surface.
These changes in the moon's appearance happen because of the positions of the moon, Earth, and the sun as the moon orbits around our planet.
A waxing moon, we mean that the moon is growing and becoming brighter.
A waning moon, we mean that the moon is shrinking and becoming less visible.
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On Page 4, have the girls first number their calendar to reflect the next 30 days. Do a quick search of when the next New Moon and Full Moon are. Have the girls color the date of the Full Moon in YELLOW. Have them color the New Moon in BLACK.
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Next they're going to find the midway between them. Color this date as half YELLOW and half BLACK. This is the First Quarter Moon. Now color the moons in between the Full and Quarter moon. Have the size of the YELLOW get smaller. Do the same from the Quarter Moon to the New Moon having the YELLOW part get smaller until it's almost all BLACK.
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The girls should then observe the moon on these dates in the future. Does the view of the moon match what your chart looks like?
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Pages 5-6: Telescopes
Lastly, we'll discuss telescopes.
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Telescopes help us see objects that are very far away.
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They use light to help magnify an image. They do this by either using lenses or mirrors.
The light enters the telescope through a lens. This lens is curved which focus the light down to a focal point. After the focal point the light then splits again and passes through the eyepiece lens. This allows us to see very far objects close up.
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Now that we know about telescopes, you can decorate your own pretend telescope. Either provide the girls with cardboard tubes and craft supplies and glue. Or you can just have them decorate the image of the tube in the booklet.
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