Updated on 01/07/2015
There are many many many ways to have fun in Girl Scouts.
This page provides just some of many links you can use to learn more before and after our Troop events!
Archery
Our Girl Scout camps offer archery…and it’s FUN!
Do you have a bow & arrow and don't know where you can shoot?
We wondered the same thing.
Friends pointed us to the Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC's) shooting range, off I-44 between 141 & Six Flags!
The Jay Henges Shooting Range has:
1) Archery Range
2) Firing Range (refurbished in 2009-2010)
3) Clay shooting
4) more
For $3/hour you can have archery fun!
When you drive in,
1) sign-ins to the left, at the bottom of the hill, in the office by the firing range.
2) archery... get back in your car, drive to the archery range atop the hill and hone your skills.
They are open unti 7:30 on Wednesdays and other nights. Just call and ask
Henges Shooting Range: http://mdc.mo.gov/regions/st-louis/jay-henges-shooting-range
We have also confirmed that the St. Louis County Parks Department has three Archery Parks:
- Buder Park (141 & 44) - http://ww5.stlouisco.com/parks/buder.html
- Creve Coeur - http://ww5.stlouisco.com/parks/creve.html
- Jefferson Barracks - http://ww5.stlouisco.com/parks/j-b.html
http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/Sports/Archery
Architecture: The Kraus House, The Frank Lloyd Wright house in Ebsworth Park - Kirkwood, MO
Did you know that Frank Lloyd Wright built a house that still stands here in St. Louis?
It's located at 120 North Ballas, in Kirkwood.
Website: The Krause House / The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park
Its style: USonian, for the United States of America - a desired "American style" of house/home architecture that was less boxy.
Learn more from
1) this HEC episode, from August, 2011.
2) this MissouriLife article, from the February, 2013 issue (pp. 78-81).
(also available at http://www.missourilife.com/travel/gateway-to-wright/)
Tours are available by appointment - 314-822-8359.
Astronomy & Space Exploration
There are so many ways to look all around us and see the image of God; astronomy is one way.
There are so many awesome things in Astronomy we needed to give it its own page.
Bicycling / Bikes
This is guiness book of world record-like information...
Parents: proposal... print, sit with your daughter and read this together.
Fastest people on bikes...
most miles ridden in a year... do the "average per day" math with your son... also ask "why wereall of those records set in the same decade? what was happning in the US,in the world then?
longest wheelies...
-Bike history
http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html
& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle
-The Walking Machine
-Velocipede / Boneshaker
-High Wheel / Penny Farthing
-…
-More current times
-Fun Facts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastest_speed_on_a_bicycle
& http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/searchEverything.kickAction?keywords=bicycle&as=7691
-Bike Land speed Record (several categories)
-Lance Armstrong… endurance (perseverance) personified... he's overshadowed by the world record noted inthe wikipedia article...
-Longest Wheelie, Back Wheel Pogos, Bike wall climbs
-Others…
-St. Louis Resources
-Velodrome, past and present - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRZXuxmpgWY
-Tour of Missouri - http://www.youtube.com/user/TourOfMissouri07/ http://tour.missouri.me/ / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_of_Missouri
-Katy Trail - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0IyBmE5kJ0/ http://www.bikekatytrail.com/ / http://mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Trail_State_Park
-Riverfront Trail - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYHfE__iWsc
-Cycling St. Louis - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIbNb-RQfDE&feature=related
Others…
Caves
Missouri is called the Cave State for a reason... we have > 5,800 caves!
Many are on private land and can only be accessed with owner permission.
Many are amazingly beautiful.
Why does Missouri have so many caves? Because of the kind of ground under our feet... the rock is the kind that water can easily wash away...
See also the Geology of Missouri section, below.
http://www.amazon.com/Missouri-Geology-Billion-Volcanoes-Sediments/dp/0826208363
http://www.missouricaves.com
http://www.missouricaves.com/license_plate.htm
http://odd.net/ozarks/caves.htm
http://mocavesandkarst.org/
http://www.mospeleo.org/
http://www.missourilife.com/searchresults.html?cx=005847481267074808880%3Agvurvtc8x0c&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=cave&siteurl=www.missourilife.com%2F#988
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/habitats/caves-and-karst/missouri-caves-karst-and-springs
http://mdc.mo.gov/search/google-appliance/caves
Living St. Louis Cave videos:
Cherokee Caves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epOn_hI8PiY
Caver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbrcgFzP_YU
http://stateoftheozarks.net/NaturalHeritage/Caves.html
See also the world's largest cave,in Vietnam...
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/world-s-biggest-cave-5171/Overview
&
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/largest-cave/jenkins-text
(related: Earthquakes, below)
Conservation
Missouri Conservationist magazine (all):
http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag
Subscriptions (free!!!):
http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/subscribe
Xplor ("Missouri Conseravtionist for kids"):
http://xplor.mdc.mo.gov/
Subscriptions (also free!!!):
http://xplor.mdc.mo.gov/xplor/get-xplor-magazine
Missouri State Parks:
http://mostateparks.com/
Kendra at Babler SP has a great source of materials that she created specifically for
Scouts, Cub/Boy and Girl Scouts.
Back packs with information about plants, animals and more
Interpretiveprograms/in-class training (~30 min), with focus on which Achievements/Electives you'll earn by attending.
She knows her stuff.
See the attached Program Guide for Scout groups.
Also, the Missouri State Parks has an Explorer program...
Complete 5 tasks, including one that can meet your Conservation patch goals,
attend an interpretive program, and complete a couple more and warn a patch.
http://mostateparks.com/page/57582/explorer-program
Daniel Boone
A good story about the pioneer who lived the later years of his life in Missouri, ~ 10-15 miles almost due west of Holy Infant as the crow flies, Daniel Boone, is available in the September, 1914 issue of Boys' Life, pp 5-7 - http://books.google.com/books?id=76Y61jYnHDEC&pg=PA1&source=gbs_toc&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Earthquakes, relating to the NewMadrid fault
USGS / U.S. Geological Survey insights (as you may have seen in the ad in the Southwest Terminal @Lambert)
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics.php?topicID=71&topic=New%20Madrid%20Seismic%20Zone
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/134/
http://www.bing.com/search?q=new+madrid+usgs&qs=n&form=QBLH&pq=new%2520madrid%2520usgs&sc=8-13&sp=-1&sk=
http://www.showme.net/~fkeller/quake/mississippi_river_ran_backward.htm
http://books.simonandschuster.com/When-the-Mississippi-Ran-Backwards/Jay-Feldman/9780743242783
(related: Caves, above)
Fire, how to make
Learn how to make a Friction Fire from this article in the September, 1914 issue of Boy's Life, pp 26-27:
http://books.google.com/books?id=76Y61jYnHDEC&pg=PA1&source=gbs_toc&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false
Fishing, specifically the annual March 1 Trout Fishing opening in Missouri
http://mostateparks.com/trout-opening
Geography
See the world in Missouri.
This page lists only a few of the towns in Missouri paying tribute to their "old country" locations:
http://ruralmissouri.coop/2010Pages/10SeptSeeTheWorld.html
Geology of Missouri
Geology, from the Greek,"earth study", is "the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the earth, ..."(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology)
Missouri is richer than most states in its geologic composition, just from the way our state wasmade. Professors at Rolla and elsewhere are quite knowledgeable onthe topic.
Webelos get to learn much as they earn their activity badges. Others need not wait to start learning.
You can learn more through many resources in our state and elsewhere.
A few valuable resources include:
"Roadside Geology of Missouri," by Charles Spencer: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/geology/roadsidegeology.htm
The Missouri Geology Store, in Rolla
http://www.missourigeologystore.com/
and
http://www.bing.com/search?q=mdc+geology&qs=n&sk=&sc=8-5&form=QBLH
The Missouri Department of Resources has a free magazine "Missouri Resources."
You can subscribe to it, and review back issues at:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/magazine/
&
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/magazine/subscription.htm
...
back issues with so many interesting articles... at:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/magazine/topic_history/index.html /http://www.dnr.mo.gov/magazine/topic_history/2000-Present.htm#summer2006
You don't need to drive far to see some awesome geology resources.
Town & Country' Longacre Park, at Mason & Clayton (the park immediately east "of that horse field on that corner by Mason Road" has some sample bounders, with a map of the ground in eastern Missouri... and an awesomely large tree trunk with historical markers on the tree rings.
Check it out in person, and alsosee it online: http://www.tandccityparks.org/Boulders.htm
Little House on the Prairie / Laura Ingalls Wilder House, in Mansfield, MO
Did you know that Laura and Almonzo lived in Missouri longer than anywhere else, in Mansfield, @ 40 min east of Springfield, and they both lived there until after WWII???
You can learn more by reading the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's article "Writer Follows 'Little House' Trail." (pdf also attached at the very bottom of this page!)
ANNNND
by visiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home.
Mastodon SP
As you drive south on I-55, you'll pass Mastodon State Park, which is provided us "the first solid evidenceof the coexistence of early humans and mastodons." (source: KETC postingon YouTube) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R7LMKStlLk&feature=email .This makes for a good den visit / GoSeeIt.
Missouri Botanical Gardens,Scouting Programs at
The Missouri Botanical Gardens hosts many programs for Girl Scouts (and Cub and Boy Scouts).
Please see "Scouting Programs- MoBot Missouri Botanical Gardens.pdf," in the Attachments section at the bottom of this page.
Missouri, in and around
This Post-Dispatch article - "Take a ride and see Missouri's biggest, smallest, oddest..." identifies things across our state that apply to a wide range of Scouting fun for all ranks, from Shrines to Caves to History to Wildlife and much, much more
It's available online http://www.stltoday.com/travel/article_36d89391-059a-57bf-ad90-3cbdced0fd1c.html, and in a pdf, from Sept, 2011,which is saved below.
See also, for "Natural Heritage" and more:
http://stateoftheozarks.net/Natural.html
The Smithsonian Channel's Aerial America tours each state from up-in-the-air.
They asked for input on where to visit when they make the Missouri episode, and the recommendations from many people are on their Missouri page.
A subset of the list is also in a word document at the bottom of this page.
Stamps (USPS), Scouting
Let Us Show You the Scouting Stamp
U.S. Postal Service Commemorates Girls Scouts’ 100th Anniversary
June 08, 2012
http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2012/pr12_071.htm
Upper Limits, Scouting Programs at
Upper Limits hosts many programs for Scouts, for Climbing Merit badges and more.
Please see "Scouting Programs - Upper Limits.pdf," in the Attachments section at the bottom of this page.
Visual Dictionary
Many Cub Scout activities - Achievement, Electives, Loops & Pins, etc. - teach our sons/Scouts muchabout the things that help make life go.
The online Visual Dictionary helps us see some of the things in action - houses, food, engines, motors/generators,and more.
See:
http://visual.merriam-webster.com/
Vocations
"Vocations: Scouting...for God and for the Church
http://wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/July-2011/Vocations-Scouting-for-God-and-for-the-Church.aspx
Weather
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=cloud_classification
http://www.stormeyes.org/tornado/SkyPix/skypixca.htm
More coming soon...
What other Scout FUN do YOU have to share with others???