Fulfills Step 4 of GSUSA Brownie Automotive Design badge requirements.
Items Needed:
- Vehicle Design Guide by GSUSA, filled out from previous activity.
- 2 large sheets of paper per scout
- Pencils
- Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
- (Optional) Tracing paper for testing design ideas
Instructions (Estimated Total Time: 20–25 minutes):
- Part 1: Add Safety & Sustainability Features (8–10 minutes)
- Scouts review their vehicle design checklist and update it with safety and sustainability features.
- Discuss ways to make vehicles:
- Safer (stronger materials, crash-prevention sensors).
- More sustainable (using recycled materials, reducing pollution).
- Scouts add or adjust criteria in their checklist to improve their vehicle.
- Part 2: Sketch the Vehicle (12–15 minutes)
- Introduce sketching as a key step in automotive design to visualize ideas.
- Hand out paper, pencils, and coloring materials. Scouts sketch two views:
- Exterior (outside shape, wheels, lights, doors).
- Interior (seats, dashboard, storage).
- Encourage scouts to:
- Start with a simple outline, then add details.
- Use their criteria checklist to ensure key parts and features are included.
- (Optional) Try tracing paper to test different features before finalizing.
- (Optional) Add color and textures to bring their design to life.
Bonus Challenge:
- Scouts design a futuristic vehicle with new technology.
- Add features for extreme conditions (snow, sand, or urban spaces).
- Sketch multiple views (side, top, front) like professional designers.
The Badge Archive 