Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts, along with Norman’s Sam Noble Museum, share a respect for nature. The trio comes together this fall to educate scouts about Earth while earning badges.
“Our mission here at the museum, and particularly in the education department, is to inspire curiosity and help people understand the natural world,” said Carrie McKenzie, the museum’s public programs coordinator.
Each spring, summer and autumn, Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., in Norman partners with Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts to create workshops that teach concepts of different branches of science and end in reward.
“We know that these Girl Scouts and these Cub Scouts need to acquire these badges and the adventure loops,” McKenzie said. “We also know that’s really hard for them to do because they may not have the resources to do so. What we are doing is helping them with some of these amazing resources we have here at the museum.”
The museum, home to many prehistoric relics and interactive exhibits, works hand-in-hand with many of the awards scouts receive for science education. McKenzie created workshops for specific badges and adventure loops, which are Cub Scout awards worn on a belt.
“One of the Cub Scout badges, it is actually a Tiger Cub Scout badge called Digging into the Past. It’s all about dinosaurs,” McKenzie said. To earn it, students “get an up-close look at real fossils, and that’s really hard for them to come by at any other place.”
The path to badges and loops include the experts of the Sam Noble Museum.
“There’s also quite a few badges where they are supposed to talk to different professionals in the field, whether that is animalogists or some type of forestry professional,” she said. “We are actually able to connect them to professionals, most of which we have here at the museum, working here full-time.”
Another available workshop is a Junior Girl Scout Detective class. The scouts explore the science behind detective work to determine the culprit behind a missing, priceless museum object. Completion is rewarded with a Detective badge.
The Wolf Scouts Air of the Wolf workshop researches the air around us. Scouts investigate phenomena such as sound and flight. Completion earns the Air of the Wolf adventure loop.
Workshops cover a range of scout levels, including Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos (first to fifth grades). Girl Scouts enjoy a larger range, including Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Seniors, corresponding to girls ages 7-15. Each workshop averages 20 participants.
Boy Scout workshops are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 19, and registration deadline is Nov. 11. Girl Scout workshops are 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Dec. 10, and registration deadline is Dec. 2. Workshops are $12, which includes museum general admission.
McKenzie said the partnership with the scouts is cherished by the museum because the results appear in front of your eyes.
“I think what the scouts are doing is really important component of outreach for kids in the community. We love to help support that any way that we can,” she said. “It’s really neat to see groups of kids learning together, and that helps keep them passionate about science since they are with kids their own age, their peers, their friends.”
Visit samnoblemuseum.ou.edu.
Print headline: Scientific feats, Sam Noble Museum joins local scout troops to help children earn badges and loops.
This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2016.