Space: The Final Frontier

As Guides arrived for our second Space-themed meeting, they were asked to work with their Patrols to think about what a shelter for a research team on another planet might look like and what humans would need to survive. 

We had our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game. 

Our main activities started off with a bit of Astronaut Training! We found out about the importance of strong muscles and bones and tried some Strength Training with squats and push-ups. We also explored reflexes and hand-eye co-ordination with a bit of Hand-Eye Reaction Training, where the Guides had to try catching dropped objects before they hit the floor. There are lots of great activities at Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut (see the link below).

We then explored food in space. Astronauts use dehydrated and freeze-dried foods in space, rehydrating their meals before eating. To get an idea of what it would be like to eat in space, we tried out some dehydrated foods - Hawaiian Rice with Chicken, Sweet Corn, and Apple Almond Crisp. Everyone agreed that the Sweet Corn was the best!


The remainder of the meeting was devoted to building space vehicles. We had a variety of space ships, rovers, rockets, and other creations that could be used for space travel!


After cleaning up, we had a bit of time to share each Patrol's space shelter and everyone's space vehicles. 

We ended with reminders for next week and closed with Taps.

Links:

• Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut
• Meeting in a Box: Space Night (GGC Quebec Council) 

Girl Guides in Space

  In April, we spent two weeks working on Space-themed activities as requested by the Guides.

As everyone arrived, each Patrol worked on creating a skit based on a constellation story. We provided the stories of Andromeda (The Princess), Cassiopeia (The Queen) and Orion (The Hunter). 

We had our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game before starting our main activities for the evening. 

Our first activity was an introduction to space and astronomy. We then watched the message made for Girl Guides from Jenni Sidey for World Space Week in 2017 (see link below). We spent a bit of time learning how to use a Star Wheel to find constellations at different times of the year. 

One of our Guiders shared a First Nations story about the Great Bear (Usra Major) and the Pole Star (Polaris). We then had an active True/False Quiz about the Solar System. Everyone started in the middle of the room, one wall was designated as True and another as False. When a statement was read out, players ran to the wall representing their answer. Everyone learned a few new facts!

• Pluto is a planet. False - Pluto was considered a planet until 2006. Now it is a dwarf planet.
  
• Jupiter is the smallest planet in the solar system. False - The smallest is Mercury, Jupiter is the largest.
• It would take two days to get to Mars by rocket. False - It would take 6-8 months.
• The Earth is the only planet with a moon. False - There are many other moons. Almost all the planets have at least one, and Jupiter has at least 63!
• It rains diamonds on Neptune. True - It has been suggested by many scientists that the methane in the air causes diamonds to rain down on Neptune.
• Only two astronauts have every visited Mercury. False - No human has ever set foot on a planet other than Earth.
• Saturn is the only planet with rings. False - Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings.
• The first animal in space was a dog. True - Her name was Laika, but unfortunately she didn't survive.
• Sally Ride was the first woman in space. False - She was the first American woman in space, but the Russians got there first with Valentina Tereshkova.
• There is a Chinese space station. True - It's name is Tiangong.
• Russian astronauts are called cosmonauts. True - and Chinese astronauts are called Taikonauts.
• There are robots on Mars. True - Among them are Curiosity, Phoenix, Spirit and Opportunity.
• There is a mountain on Mars that is 3 times as tall as Mount Everest. True - Olympus Mons, or Mount Olympus, is 24km tall!
• Our galaxy is called Andromeda. False - Our galaxy is the Milky Way. Andromeda is another galaxy about 2.5 million light years from Earth.
• Meteors and shooting stars are the same thing. True - They are both streaks of light produced when a meteoroid burns up in the Earth's atmosphere.
• Comets are made mostly of ice. True - Comets are balls of frozen gasses, dust and rocks. When they get close to the sun, they start to melt and that's what creates their tail.

Our main project for the evening was Night Sky themed wooden plaques. We provided wooden plaques in different shapes and a variety of different wooden pieces that could be glued on, glue guns, paint, and brushes. The results were very good - and unique!

After cleaning up, the Patrols performed the skits they had prepared at the beginning of the meeting. We ended with reminders for next week and closed with Taps.


Links:

• Message from Jenni Sidey for World Space Week 2017 (YouTube Video)
• Spanel Planetarium - Greek Mythology
• Canada Under the Stars - The Inuit Sky 
• Girl Guides Go Galactic (Ontario Lone Guides) 

Girl Guides Go Galactic!

This week we belatedly celebrated World Space Week. It was also one of those meetings where we had a plan, but changed it based on what the girls wanted to do.

We started out by practicing the horseshoe and working on learning the Guide Marching Song. (We still need a bit of practice!)

Our first activity was a trivia relay race to learn about the different planets in the solar system. The Guides lined up in their Patrols and a series of clues were read out. Once the Patrol figured out which planet was being described, one person ran to the other end of the room to find the planet itself and bring it back to the Patrol. Once each Patrol had all of the planets, they were challenged to put them in order from nearest to furthest from the sun.



We then played an active game to look at how planets orbit the sun. One girl was the sun and had a beach ball. The other girls chose their planets and walked or ran in a circle around the sun. The challenge - the sun kept moving! This was a great activity for using up some excess energy.

Our final big activity was intended to be origami alien bookmarks, but became a lengthy session of origami in general. The girls made bookmarks, cootie catchers, and other folded creations!

As a final game, we played Planets, a fruit salad-type game using different planets instead of fruit. We ended with a couple of songs, reminders for next week (no meeting) and Taps.

Downloads:

• Planet Trivia Facts