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Scout Groups

Programs for Girl Scouts
& Boy scouts

Earn your Scout badges at the Greenwich Historical Society!

The educators at the Greenwich Historical Society are familiar with badge requirements for all levels of both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Our 60-90 minute programs are available between the hours of 1-5 p.m. Programs will take place outdoors with a maximum of 12 scouts.  Each visit includes the Bush-Holley House Historic Site patch. Achievement badges are sold separately and can be purchased through the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

Scout Badge Offerings

60 minutes – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all  steps  – $12 per scout

Step 1 –  Learn:  the Bush-Holley House was once home to an influential art colony.  Learn about the artists who stayed here and how they interacted with the natural world. 

Step 2 – See the colors of nature:  Walk around the Bush-Holley site.  Wander through the herb, flower, and  natural dye gardens.  Step down to the Mianus River to observe the water and the birds.  See if you can spot our resident rabbits and squirrels.  

Step 3 – Hear the sounds of nature:  Listen to the birds and the wind.  What do they make you think of ?

Step 4 – Share your outdoor art:  Make a piece of art inspired by the site and share it with the group.

60 minute option – Begins badge requirements – Includes step 1, and either step 2, 3 or 4 – $12 per scout

90 minute option – Begins badge requirements – Includes step 1 and two of the following steps of your choice  – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Get inspired:  Go to the gallery and see the Impressionist paintings of the artists who lived at or visited Cos Cob.  Learn how they were inspired by the sight and sounds of the surrounding village. 

Step 2 – Paint the real world:  Choose an outdoor setting or a group of stones, plants, or both, then paint a landscape or still life in the style of the American Impressionists.

Step 3 – Paint a mood:  Learn how the 1913 NYC Armory Show changed the way artists expressed themselves; then create a piece of art in the Modernist style that conveys a particular feeling.

Step 4 – Paint without brushes:  Gather a few small objects or use those provided by the staff to create a unique piece of artwork. 

60 minute option – Begins badge requirements – Includes steps 3 and 4, and either step 1 or 2 – $12 per scout

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Get started with letterboxing:  Learn about the history of letterboxing and create your own letterbox out of materials provided by the staff. 

Step 2 – Find your own stamp:  Create your own unique stamp for letterboxing. 

Step 3 –  Practice solving clues:  Follow the clues provided by the staff to find objects in the Special Exhibition Gallery.

Step 4 – Search for a letterbox:  Find the letterbox located on the Bush-Holley site.

60 minute option – Begins badge requirements – Includes steps 1 and 2, and  either Step 3 or 4  $12 per scout

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Decide who you are:  Tour around the Bush-Holley House and learn about the life of Sarah Bush and other colonial women.

Step 2 – Create a costume/become your character:  Learn about colonial clothing and sketch your own outfit using colored pencils.  Give your newly drawn character a name, an age, a family and a favorite chore or hobby.

Step 3 –  Experience daily life:  Just like the colonists in the 1770’s, learn how to create your own fabric by spinning yarn and weaving.

Step 4 – Have some old-fashioned fun: Play with colonial toys and learn some fun “new” old games.

60 minute option – Begins badge requirements – Includes steps 1 and 2, and either step 3 or 4 $12 per scout

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Experiment with different materials:  Try out charcoal, chalk pastels, oil pastels and colored pencils.  Find out which suits your style.

Step 2 – Learn how to add shading:  Enhance your drawing techniques by learning how to add depth and contours to your drawings.

Step 3 – Get some perspective:  Create a still life like resident artists Elmer MacRae or Childe Hassam did, and draw it from three different perspectives.  

Step 4 – Make your masterpiece:  Take your favorite drawing materials outside and sketch a scene from the Bush-Holley Historic Site.

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Explore the art of bookbinding: Take a guided tour of the Library and Archives at the Bush-Holley Historic Site and learn about the care that goes into preserving historic books and documents.

Step 2 – Become familiar with the parts of a book as you learn how a book is made.

Step 3 – Try out book artist techniques:  Learn three different bookbinding techniques.

Step 4 –  Focus on function:  Make your book using the binding technique you think works best. 

Step 5 –  Focus on style:  Use your imagination to decorate your art book with stamps, ink and found objects.

60 minute option – Begins badge requirements – Includes steps 1, 2, and 4, and either step 3 or 5 – $12 per scout

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Explore collage: Learn about the history of collage from when paper was first invented in China c. 200 BC.

Step 2 – Focus on composition: Explore composition techniques and create a piece of collage art.

Step 3 –Create with color:  Using materials provided, focus on color theory to create a unique piece of artwork.

Step 4 – Use found objects: Find a piece of nature to add to your collage.

Step 5 – Share a message: Make a collage that expresses a message you want to put out into the world.

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Choose your textile art: The Bushes lived in the Bush-Holley House Historic Site during the decade surrounding the American Revolution. In this time period, people would have worn clothing made completely by hand. In this program, Scouts will interact with two types of colonial textile processing. They will either make a colonial pocket (using sewing) or a woven coaster (using weaving). They will then have the opportunity to hand-dye their creation with flowers from our garden in a process that dates back centuries.

Step 2 – Find your tools and materials: Choose which of the materials provided you would like to use for your project.

Step 3 – Learn the basics: Learn about the textiles, tools, and techniques you selected to create a piece of textile artwork.

Step 4 – Make something for everyday use: Create your colonial pocket or woven coaster.

Step 5 – Create a gift or item for a special occasion: Using the technique you used in the last step, create a hank of hand-dyed yarn or a hand-dyed handkerchief.

60 minutes – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all  steps  – $12 per scout

Step 1 –  Visit an art gallery or a museum, explore an art website, or visit your library.

Step 2 – Discuss.

Step 3 – Create a piece of art.

Step 4 – Draw an art piece using shapes

Step 5 – Use tangrams to create shapes.

60 minutes  $12 per scout  While we cannot provide the entirety of the badge requirement, we can facilitate the key steps needed for its completion including:

Step 2 – Make a family crest.

Step 3 – Visit your public library to find out information about the heritage of some of your family members.

Step 5 – Make a family tree designed for your particular family.

Step 6 – Share with your den what your name means.

For these steps, Scouts can visit our Archival Library to learn about genealogy and how to study it.  They will begin a family tree and learn the etymology behind their names.

60 minute option – Begins badge requirements – Includes step 1 and either step 2 or 3  $12 per scout

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 –Visit our gallery to see and discuss art created by the Cos Cob Art Colony.

Step 2 – Create two self portraits using two different techniques. 

Step 3 –  Follow in the footsteps of the Cos Cob artists by painting en plan air and creating origami animals.

 

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Discuss art and its importance.

Step 2 – Learn about line, value, shape, form, space, color and texture.  Show an example.

Step 3 – Learn the six principles of design.

Step 4 – Explore different mediums by creating a still life in charcoal, ink, pastels, and paint. 

Step 5 – Create troop a logo using your favorite medium.

Step 6 – Visit our gallery and learn about the Cos Cob Art Colony. 

Step 7 – Learn about art careers.

90 minutes – Fulfills Badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Identify the different Native American cultural areas.

Step 2 – Learn about Wiechquaeskeck people who lived in what is now Greenwich.

Step 3 – Deepen your understanding by creating a model of a lodge used by the Weichquaesgeck and by looking at artifacts they left behind.

Step 4 – Learn what a ward pound is and how the Weichquaesgeck used them to hunt deer.

Step 5 – Discover Wiechquaeskeck names for local places and what they mean.

90 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – Includes all steps – $15 per scout

Step 1 – Discuss the importance of textiles and give examples of textiles you use everyday.

Step 2 – Learn about how different types of material fabric is made and what they are made out of. Compare them, and discuss how they are different.

Step 3 – Make something! Dye yarn using natural dyes, make your own loam, and create a piece of woven art.

Step 4 – Learn important weaving terms.

Step 5 – Discuss ecological concerns regarding production and care of textiles.

Step 6 – Discuss careers in the textile field.

60 minute option – Fulfills badge requirements – includes all steps $12 per scout

Step 1- Learn the key terms of genealogy.

Step 2 – Create a timeline of your life.

Step 4 – Learn about the importance of documents in genealogy. Have scouts bring a piece of mail or a student I.D. with them. They will learn how that document can used to build a family genealogy.

Step 5 – Visit our archive and learn how to use it as a genealogical resource.

Step 6 – Begin creating your family tree.

Step 7 – Complete a family group record form.

Step 8 – Learn about the use of computers and photography in genealogy.

Step 9 – Discuss what you have learned.

Step 3 – Homework!
The last thing left to do to complete the genealogy badge is to interview a family member or family friend. At the end of their visit, the Greenwich Historical Society will provide Scouts with a questionnaire sheet to help the scouts facilitate this final step.

 

 

$50 dollars per group, maxing out at 20 participants. Additional participants over 20 are $5 each.

While we cannot provide the entirety of the badge, we can facilitate key steps needed for its completion. Including

Step 2a – Visit a place of education in town (that is not a school).
2b – Interview 2 professionals (who are not your teachers) to see what sort of education/training they need for their job.
2d – Discuss the advantages/disadvantages of different research methods/resources.

For these steps, Scouts can come to the Greenwich Historical Society site to learn about how our exhibits and archives are used by researchers as resources. They can then interview one of archivists and one of our museum professionals to learn what goes into their scholarship based careers.

90 minutes – $10 per scout

While we cannot provide the entirety of the badge, we can facilitate key steps needed for its completion. Including

Step 2d – Interview three people in your community of different ages and occupations and ask them about America.

Step 6 – Discuss career opportunities in American Heritage. Pick one and discuss what education and training are required for this career.

For these steps, Scouts can interview a Greenwich Historical Society Employee to talk about American history, how we decide what history to highlight, and how to become a professional historian.

Step 4a – Explain the National Register of Historic Places and how a property becomes eligible for an official listing. Make a map of your local area, marking historic places.

Step 4b – Research an event of historic importance that took place near your area. If possible, visit. Tell the history to counselor. Describe the look of the area now vs. then.

For these steps, Scouts can visit the Bush Holley House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. They will learn the historic importance of the house, significant events that took place in town, and how the property was chosen for the Historic Places listing.

 

 

For more information e-mail Heather Lodge, Manager of Youth and Family Programs
hlodge@greenwichhistory.org 

or call 203-869-6899, Ext. 32