The Badge Archive

Basic Meeting Plans are designed to have minimal supplies and still hit the GSUSA Requirements. Most meetings can be done in a 90 minute time frame.

Items needed:

• Pen/Pencil for each scout
• Papers for each scout
• (Optional) Printout about Margaret Hamilton
• Depending on the activity for Loops Fun Activity
  • (Beads and String) Different colored or shaped beads, enough for all scouts to pick and create
  • (Beads and String) String for the bracelets or necklaces
  • (Paper Bracelet) Strips of paper with boxes drawn or printed on them
  • (Paper Bracelet) Troop coloring supplies (markers, crayons, or colored pencils)
  • (Paper Bracelet) Scotch tape

Women in Science!

Info Needed: Margaret Hamilton worked with MIT and NASA to create computer programs used by astronauts in the Apollo 11 flight. That program saved three astronauts when the computer got confused as it tried to land on the moon. The program told the computer if these things happened, then it should to ignore the errors. The astronauts safely landed.

(Requirement 5 Earned)

Note to Leaders – You can learn more about Margaret Hamilton with a short video

What is a Sequence?

Info Needed: An algorithm is a program to do something step by step. Sequence is the order those steps are done in. Sometimes it wouldn’t matter, like when you put your pants and shirt on. You could do it in any order. Sometimes it does matter, like if you tried to put peanut butter on a sandwich after you already put the two slices of bread together.

Question Needed: What is something you do every day that could be made into an algorithm that requires a sequence?

Action Needed: Scouts each write down what daily task would be an algorithm.

(Requirement 1 Earned)

Note to Leaders – You can learn more about sequencing with a short video

Play with loops?

Info Needed: A computer requires very specific instructions every time an action is taken. If you need to make 12 sandwiches before a campout, you would need to repeat the exact step by step instructions 12 times. Programmers save time by creating loops. If they write out the instructions to make the sandwich once they can label it “makesandwich”. Instead of writing that same code 12 times, they can simply write a line of code that says to follow the “makesandwich” code 12 times.

Question Needed: What are three things you could label as a loop in your daily algorithm?

Example: If your algorithm was to get ready for school every day, you could make a loop for “gettingdressed”, “eatingbreakfast”, and “packingbackpack” if those steps are the same everyday. Then you don’t need step by step instructions each day for those tasks that are the same every day – you just use the loop.

Action Needed: Scouts each write down three loops their daily task might have. It’s okay if they decide to change their daily task.

Fun Activity: Make loop bracelets or necklaces. Choose one:

• You can use beads and string and make a pattern of beads you put on in a certain order. Decide how many times the pattern will be repeated. Make the jewelry yourself or have swap instructions and see if your partner can make your jewelry from your loop pattern instructions while you make theirs.
• Make a paper bracelet. Use a strip of paper with boxes. On a separate piece of paper create a color pattern and figure out how many times you need to repeat it to fill in all the papers (or maybe leave a few blank at the end and make a shorter bracelet. Color the boxes in the loop pattern color order, then tape it around your wrist. The strip of paper will only fit so many boxes. Be sure to calculate how many times it loops. If there are 15 boxes, you could do a pattern of three or five colors and repeat it either 5 or 3 times.

(Requirement 2 Earned – Fun Activity optional)

Note to Leaders – You can learn more about loops with a short video

Conditionals!

Info Needed: “If you give a mouse a cookie, then he’ll be very hyper, else he’ll be normal.” If, then statements we use all the time. Else is just an addition for what would happen if the statement doesn’t happen. If/then/else are used in coding, called conditional. If something happens then what action is taken?

(Requirement 3 Earned)

Question Needed: What is something from your daily algorithm that would be conditional?

Example: Getting dressed would have the conditional of “If it is cold, then I wear long sleeves, else I wear short sleeves.”

Action Needed: Scouts write down one condition for one of their tasks or loops already on the paper.

(Requirement 4 Earned)

Note to Leaders – You can learn more about conditionals with a short video

Meeting End

If there is extra time, challenge the scouts to think of another task that would have loops and conditionals – like landing on the moon! They can work individually or as a group. Who can come up with the craziest task?

OR

Have scouts make more loop designs for their bracelet/necklaces until it is time to leave.

General Notes

Note to Leaders – No Basic Plan compiled by The Badge Archive will earn multiple badges in one level. Part of being budget friendly is not costing more than the price of one official GSUSA badge per meeting.

Some badges will take two meeting to finish. This helps scouts enjoy activities and keeps the troop budget in mind by only needing one GSUSA badge for every two meetings. Troops may choose to get a fun patch for one of the meetings if scouts want a badge/patch for every meeting. Scouts can earn the fun patch if they only attend one meeting and get a fun patch and the official badge if they go to both.

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