A badge of honor and buffalo
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Fermilab's new Girl Scout badge has troop #312 excited about "atoms and buffalo." Unlike a field trip where kids visit Fermilab to learn about physics in an "educational environment," the Girl Scouts' Fermilab outing lets kids come with their friends and a scout leader to explore the particles and the prairie through their own eyes.
"We have a big book that we look at to find out what we need to do to get a badge," said Kelsey, one of the 10 members of the troop. Their ages range from 10 to 13, plus 5-year-old Maddie. To earn the Fermilab badge, the scouts had to pick seeds in the prairie and talk to various people, including an architect. "We learned about how the atoms work and how the pipes [accelerators] work," Liana explained.
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The girls agreed that the Fermilab badge ranks right up there with badges they got for horse riding and cooking. "The badge reminds you of your experience," said Kelsey, "and how hard you worked for it. It's a big accomplishment."
Tiffany liked the badge, too. "It makes me think of funny memories about buffalo," she said, adding that the buffalo experience was "too personal" to share.
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The scouts thought the badge design did a good job of representing Fermilab. "The buffalo is a big part of Fermilab," Susie explained. However, the scouts also had a few ideas of their own: Tiffany proposed a "frog badge," Liana an "astronomy badge," Amanda a "pyramid of girl scouts," and Taylor a badge with 99 bottles of pop and a little microphone which would constantly sing their favorite song throughout the whole trip.
Lisa Zyga
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