Activity Description: Scouts meet a maker (guest speaker), explore their art style and materials, and reflect on what they learned and created.
- Fulfills Step 1 of GSUSA Daisy Art and Design badge requirements.
- Fulfills Step 1 of GSUSA Brownie Art and Design badge requirements.
- Fulfills Step 1 of GSUSA Junior Art and Design badge requirements.
Info Needed: Artists and designers use different materials (called mediums) to create all kinds of art. Makers may draw, paint, build, sculpt, or even create art on a computer. By exploring the styles and materials they use, we can better understand what creativity looks like around us, and how it can inspire our own art.
Items Needed:
- Printout of VTK’s Style Your Medium (Brownie)
- Any materials needed for the art experience, based on the maker’s medium
Instructions (Estimated Total Time: 25–40 min):
- Meet a maker (10 min)
- Connect with a local artist or designer in person or virtually.
- If possible, visit their studio or gallery to see their art firsthand.
- Learn about their process (5–7 min)
- Scouts listen and ask questions about the maker’s work.
- What type of art do you create?
- What inspires you?
- What materials and tools do you use?
- How did you learn your craft?
- Scouts listen and ask questions about the maker’s work.
- Explore mediums and styles (5 min)
- Identify the maker’s medium (paint, sculpture, digital art, etc.).
- Discuss their style (impressionism, cubism, abstract, etc.).
- (Optional) compare two artworks in different styles to see how technique changes the look and feel.
- (Optional) Try making something (10–12 min)
- If the maker is available, scouts create a small piece of art inspired by their medium or style.
- If the artist can’t lead, troop leaders provide simple materials and a guided example based on the maker’s work.
- Reflect and share (5–6 min)
- Scouts talk about:
- What was the most interesting part of meeting the maker?
- What mediums and styles did they learn about?
- What did they enjoy about creating something in that style?
- Scouts talk about:
Bonus Challenge:
Scouts describe how the maker’s creative process inspired them or gave them new ideas for making their own art.
The Badge Archive 