Discovering the Wonders of Water

Submitted by Troop 78, Leader Cynthia Luke

When my newly bridged Brownies voted to start off with the Wonders of Water journey, I thumbed through the book. It didn’t take me long to realize that the stories are would take up too much meeting time and make it not so much fun for the girls. In an effort to keep their attention and keep it hands on, I set out to find new ways to do the journey that follows a similar path, minus the story. Some of the new activities were able to tie into petals for my Daisies, while my older girls were able to earn their LIA by helping their Brownie sisters along the journey.

We first discussed water and all of the possible uses for it. Next, we looked at cups full of water and talked about all that we can do with just the small amounts in each cup. After more discussion, we decided to get hands on and try to make rainbows. After being unsuccessful, we talked about why they think we couldn’t get a rainbow to appear.

Water Content in Food

At our next journey meeting, we made a sweet and water-filled snack, with many fruits. We talked about the water content of different foods we eat. They were surprised to learn that there is water in the fruits and vegetables.

Collect Water for Family

At another meeting, we went on a journey to collect water for our families. Three stations were set up. One had no water, one had very little but dirty water, and one had clean water.  Girls were told to carry their water with one cup on their head and one in front of them, or at their side. We talked about how in some countries, girls cannot go to school, because they have to take care of their families, and one of their jobs is gathering clean water. We talked about how sometimes; the water is very far away.

Testing the Water

The girls decided they wanted to test water for various things, so each girl collected water from somewhere. Each group chose a water jar that was brought in, and began testing it with water testing strips my co-leader brought in for us.

Dye Paper with Water

We used water to dye paper. I showed the girls that if you drop food coloring on paper, it dyes it, but stays where you dropped it unless you move the paper around. I then showed them that if you dip the paper in water first, then drop the food coloring on it, the water makes the color spread. We talked about how this same thing applies to anything we put in the water. The water makes things spread, so a small mess in our oceans can become a big mess really quickly.

Water Pollution

We discussed pollution and how it affects our water supply. Each group got a chance to pollute water, and then they were challenged to clean the water back up. Each girl came up with a theory on how they can get the water back to normal, and set out to try to do so. We talked about how this same thing applies to our oceans and lakes and we made a promise to clean up trash when we see it.

They then spent several meetings planning skits to teach people about water care. They also voted to do a beach cleanup over the summer. Overall I would say the girls really took in the information, especially during the hands on activities.

I am the leader of troop 78, a large multi-level troop in Virginia, my name is Cynthia Luke. I am going into my 4th year of being a leader, and was a Girl Scout as a girl for about 5 years. My troop as a girl was not very girl-led and so I lead my troop in a very girl-led manner. I want my girls to get the most out of their time in my troop, so they are taught from the very beginning that if they don’t like something, they should speak up and let us know.