The Badge Archive

Activity Description: Scouts explore how Earth’s movement creates day and night, then draw sky observations in a handmade day sky book.

• Fulfills Step 1 of GSUSA Daisy Space Science Explorer badge requirements.

Info Needed for Daisy Space Science: The sun looks like it moves across the sky because Earth is spinning. When we see the sun in the morning, our part of Earth is turning toward the light. At night, our part of Earth turns away from the sun. It looks like the sun has gone down. Shadows change during the day because the sun’s position in the sky changes.

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Items Needed:

• Paper (at least four sheets per scout)
• Pencils, markers, crayons, glue, stickers
• Stapler or string for binding
• Lamp with removable shade
• Stickers
• (Optional) Flashlight for virtual scouts
• (Optional) Mirror for virtual scouts

Instructions (Estimated Total Time: 30–40 min):

1. Explore how Earth spins to create day and night (10–12 min)
   • Place a sticker on each scout’s nose.
   • Use a lamp or flashlight as the Sun.
   • Scouts slowly turn their heads left and right to see how light changes.
   • Talk about what sunrise, sunset, and nighttime look like.
2. Decorate the cover of the day sky book (5–7 min)
   • Scouts use art supplies to decorate a cover that shows something special about them.
3. Observe and draw the sky (10–12 min)
   • Go outside or look out a window.
   • Scouts draw what they see in the sky.
   • Include clouds, colors, and the Sun’s position.
   • Remind scouts not to look directly at the Sun.
4. Bind the day sky book (3–5 min)
   • Use string or a stapler to bind the pages together.
   • Scouts keep their books to continue sky drawings at home.
5. (Optional) Extend the activity at home (2–4 min)
   • Scouts make predictions before looking at the sky at different times of day.
   • Draw what they see and compare it to their guess.
   • Bring the book to the next meeting to share discoveries.