Bring the excitement of Design Squad to your Girl Scouts and let them feel like contestants by challenging them to earn the Design Squad patch! Through each episode, the Web site, and hands-on activities, Girl Scouts, ages 9-17, will learn that engineering is fun, creative, and exciting.
NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES TO EARN THE PATCH:
Juniors:
- Warm-up activity
- 1 full unit (or 3 activities)
- plus the community service component
GS 11-17:
- Warm-up activity
- 2 full units (a unit can be replaced with 3 activities)
- plus the community service component
SPONSORED BY: Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts
All Design Squad activities can be downloaded in pdf format. Photocopy and distribute them to your kids. You can also watch full streamed episodes and download D-Squad Pro Files (video profiles of real engineers).
WARM-UP ACTIVITY
Pop Fly - Invent a way to send a Ping-Pong ball flying high enough to catch it. (in Spanish & English)
UNIT: IT'S ELECTRIC
- Activity 1: Hidden Alarm - Build a circuit to power an alarm so small you can hide it. (in Spanish & English)
- Activity 2: Dance Pad Mania - Build a dance pad that sounds buzzers and flashes lights. (in Spanish & English)
- Activity 3: Dance Off - Play a game that puts the dance pads to the test.
- Watch an Episode: Bodies Electric
- Watch a D-Squad Pro File: Dr. Howard Pryor or Lt. Darrin Barber
UNIT: CARS, CARS, CARS
- Activity 1: Rubber Band Car - Make a two-wheeled car powered by a rubber band. (in Spanish & English)
- Activity 2: Motorized Car - Add a motor to your rubber band car. (in Spanish & English)
- Activity 3: Customized Car - Choose one of several ways to modify your car.
- Watch an Episode: The Need for Speed
- Watch a D-Squad Pro File: Peter Bethune
UNIT: BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
- Activity 1: High Rise - Build a tall tower that can support a tennis ball. (in Spanish & English)
- Activity 2: Kinetic Sculpture - Build a tower with parts that move in the wind. (in Spanish & English)
- Watch an Episode: Blowin' in the Wind
UNIT: KICK START
- Activity 1: Kicking Machine - Build a machine that kicks balls across the floor. (in Spanish & English)
- Activity 2: Extreme Kicking Machine - Modify your kicking machine in one of two ways. (in Spanish & English)
- Watch an Episode: Just for Kicks
- Watch a D-Squad Pro File: Chris Fidler and Scott Keller
SINGLE ACTIVITIES
- Feel the Heat - Heat things up by building a solar hot water heater.
- Heavy Lifting - Build a cardboard crane and see how heavy a load it can lift.
- Helping Hand - See how many objects you can grab with a homemade "bionic" arm. (in Spanish & English)
- Launch It - Design an air-powered rocket that can hit a distant target.
- On Target - Modify a paper cup so it can zip down a line and drop a marble onto a target.
- Paddle Power - Check out how fast a boat can paddle itself across a container of water. (in Spanish & English)
- Paper Table - See how strong a table you can build out of paper. (in Spanish & English)
Watch an Episode: Cardboard Furniture
Watch a D-Squad Pro File: Jen Chua
- Roving on the Moon - Build a rubber band-powered rover that can scramble across the room.
- Touchdown - Create a platform that can safely cushion "astronauts" when they land on a table near you.
- Watercraft - Find out if you can build an unsinkable boat out of straws and plastic wrap. (in Spanish & English)
Watch an Episode: PVC Kayak
Watch a D-Squad Pro File: Connie Yang - Zip Line - Test how quickly you can get a Ping Pong ball to the bottom of a zip line string. (in Spanish & English)
COMMUNITY SERVICE COMPONENT
Introduce one of the above activities or units to a group of younger children (another Girl Scout Troop, younger siblings, or neighborhood kids.)
To order the Design Squad patch, contact the Girl Scout Country Store:
(781) 893-6293; girlscoutshop.org