The Badge Archive

Bug Walk

Fulfills Step 5 of GSUSA Bugs badge requirements.

Info Needed for Badge Requirements: Scouts take a trip to explore and observe bugs in their natural environment.

Items Needed:

  • Outdoor area with plants, trees, or rocks
  • One magnifying glass per scout
  • Optional: paper and pencil for notes or drawings

Instructions (Total Time: 60 minutes):

  1. Get Ready for the Bug Walk (5–8 minutes)
    • Gather scouts and explain they’ll be looking for bugs in their natural homes
    • Hand out magnifying glasses
    • Encourage them to look in many places:
      • On the ground or near rocks
      • Look under logs, rocks, wood, or planters.  A lot of insects like dark areas
      • Dig around in leaf litter or mulch
      • Check out inside corners of buildings for spiders
  2. Walk and Observe (35–40 minutes)
    • Scouts take a slow walk through the outdoor area with adult supervision
    • Use magnifying glasses to see tiny bugs up close
    • Look for bugs moving, hiding, flying, or interacting with their environment
    • Notice if bugs are near a home, like a nest, hole, or web, and what they’re doing
  3. Share and Reflect (10–12 minutes)
    • Talk about the bugs scouts saw:
      • What did they notice up close?
      • Did they see bug homes? What were the bugs doing there?
      • What was the most interesting bug they recognized?
Tia Kennard