Would you get your Weather badge?

Girlguiding is in the process of creating their new programme and are looking for ideas for new badges. #BadgeGoals. A social media campaign out today is looking for inspiration for a Dream Badge.

... transforming what girls do in Girlguiding to bring our activities bang up to date – including our iconic badges

My interest in the weather was piqued by earning my Weatherman badge back when I was 12 and a Girl Guide.

I'm still a Guide leader and Girlguiding volunteer and help the girls with their various weather badges - Go For it Weather, Guide Science or Brownie Science Investigator. The Brownies did have a Seasons interest badge for a time which included a bit of weather, but the list changes over the years. Gone are the days of many subject specific badges such as Carpenter, Bee Keeper and Skier with more broad subjects now within which leaders and the girls can adapt the syllabus for their resources and the local setting.

Weatherman Badge (1970/80s)

The Scouts have a Meteorologist badge; I was given one of these when I worked at the Met Office as they were sponsoring the badge at the time. I can answer it all and I've done my first aid training too, honest.

Meteorologist Activity Badge

1. Explain how each of these is measured:
   • wind force and direction
   • cloud type and extent
   • temperature
   • pressure
   • rainfall
   • humidity.
2. Record the weather conditions every day for two weeks. Use equipment like a rain gauge or an outdoor thermometer.
3. Identify different cloud types. How are they formed?
4. What do ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ air masses in summer and winter do to the typical weather in your area? Note down the effects of land and sea.
5. Explain how synoptic weather maps are produced. Show you can
   understand a map, with fronts and isobars, similar to those on television and in newspapers. How do the measurements in step 1 relate to the map?
6. Understand the effects of hypothermia and heat exhaustion. How do temperature, wind and water affect the human body?

Go For It Weather

Go For It's (GFIs) are badges to be done in small groups or Guide patrols rather than the individual interest badges. A student at Edinburgh University recently created the GFI Weather.

Fourth year student Becky designed the challenge while volunteering with a Guide group in Edinburgh as part of a project run by the School of GeoSciences.

The syllabus has lots of practical ideas and experiments whilst still keeping records of the daily weather in true observer style.  Making a cloud in a bottle, an indoor rainbow, the old favourite of a rain gauge out of a pop bottle and identifying cloud types. 

Science  (Guides age 10-14)

Complete all of the clauses.

1. Plan and undertake experiments or research in two of the following areas. Show you understand the science behind what you have done.

• Home of the future – how do developments in science and engineering improve the way we live?
• Weather – learn about predicting, measuring and preparing for weather.
• Crime Scene Investigation – find out what happens when a crime is being investigated.
• It’s all about me – how to keep your body healthy.
• Animals and nature – what impact do we, as humans, have on nature and what positive things can you do to tackle this?

Other clauses include talking about recent science news stories and visiting a science festival or museum, also getting a scientist in to chat and share about their work.

Off to camp

I'm off to Guide camp this week, 2 nights in old style green ridge tents. We will all have a chat about new ideas for different badges. The weather looks cool and a bit showery but it should improve for Sunday, even warm up a bit! Don't want a wet strike thanks. I'm packing sunscreen, waterproof trousers and midgey spray with a woolly hat and I can't wait for the campfire S'mores.

Sign up or volunteer for

Girlguiding https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/get-involved/

Scouts http://scouts.org.uk/get-involved/

Keep an eye on those rain showers for camp Netweather Radar   or download the Netweather Storm App