This module is designed to help you explore how earth science affects your life each day.
Down and Dirty
Requirements last updated 2022-05-24. There are broken links and outdated information in places and formatting may not match between two Nova awards because the requirements are preserved to match the original state from Scouting America. Where available, the related counselor notes have been included along with the requirements.
1.
Choose A or B or C and complete ALL the requirements:
A.
Watch an episode or episodes (about one hour total) of a show about
Earth, the weather, geology, volcanoes, or oceanography. Then do the
following:
1.
Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from what you
watched.
2.
Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.
Some examples include - but are not limited to - shows found on PBS ("NOVA"), Discovery Channel, Science Channel, National Geographic Channel, TED Talks (online videos), and the History Channel. You may choose to watch a live performance or movie at a planetarium or science museum instead of watching a media production. You may watch online productions with your counselor's approval and under your parent's or guardian's supervision.
B.
Read (about one hour total) about Earth, the weather, geology,
volcanoes, or oceanography. Then do the following:
1.
Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from what you
watched.
2.
Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.
Books on many topics may be found at your local library. Examples
of magazines include but are not limited to Odyssey, KIDS DISCOVER,
National Geographic Kids, Whizz Pop Bang, Science+Nature, How it
Works, Aquila, Popular Science, muse, and OWL or owlkids.com.
C.
Do a combination of reading and watching (about one hour total) about
Earth, the weather, geology, volcanoes, or oceanography. Then do the
following:
1.
Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from what you read
and watched.
2.
Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.
2.
Complete ONE adventure from the following list for your current rank or
complete option A or B. (If you choose an Adventure, choose one you have
not already earned.) Discuss with your counselor what kind of science,
technology, engineering, and math was used in the adventure or option.
- Wolf Cub Scouts: Digging in the Past
- Bear Cub Scouts: Super Science
- Webelos Scouts: Earth Rocks!
Option A: Complete two of the following.
a.
Explain to your den or an adult what geology means.
b.
Collect samples of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks and
explain how each was formed.
c.
Collect samples of three minerals. Explain to your family or den what a
mineral is and show and tell about the minerals you collected.
d.
With your family or den, make a mineral test kit, and test minerals
according to the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Record the results.
Option B: Complete one of the following:
a.
Make a fossil cast.
b.
Make a dinosaur dig. Be a paleontologist and dig through a dinosaur dig
made by another member of your den. Show and explain the ways a
paleontologist works carefully during a dig.
The official requirement stops after "Show and explain", but the extra
wording was found in another version online.
3.
Investigate: Choose A or B or C or D and complete ALL the requirements:
A.
Volcanoes erupt
1.
How are volcanoes formed?
2.
What is the difference between lava and magma?
3.
How does a volcano both build and destroy land?
4.
Build or draw a volcano model. If you build a working model, make
sure you follow all safety precautions including wearing protective
glasses for your volcano's eruption. If you draw a volcano, be sure
to draw a cross section and explain the characteristics of
different types of volcanoes.
5.
Share your model and what you have learned with your counselor.
B.
Rock on
1.
What minerals are common in your state? Make a collection of three
to five common minerals and explain how they are used.
2.
Are these minerals found in sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic
rocks?
3.
Explain or demonstrate the difference in formation of the three
major types of rocks. Which types of rocks are common in your area?
4.
Share your collection and what you have learned with your
counselor.
C.
Weather changes our world
1.
Make three weather instruments out of materials around your home.
(Examples include a rain gauge, weathervane, barometer, anemometer,
and weather journal.) Use these and another method that is readily
available (i.e., thermometer, eyes, older person's joints, etc.)
for a total of four methods to monitor and predict the weather for
one week. Keep a log of your findings. Which instrument provided
the most accurate information?
2.
Keep a weather journal for a week. Include your predictions and the
predictions of a local meteorologist. Do your predictions match
those of the local meteorologist? Do your predictions match the
weather that occurred? How can the predictions become more
accurate?
3.
Discuss your work with your counselor.
D.
Animal habitats: Choose TWO of the following animal habitats and
complete the activity and questions. At least one habitat should be
close to your home (within 50 miles). Visit at least one of the
habitats. Once you have completed the activity and questions, discuss
the habitats and the activities with your counselor:
1.
Prairie
Draw or model a food web with at least five consumers and two
producers that live in the prairie habitat. What is the difference
between consumers and producers? Predators and prey? What would
happen if one of the animals in the food web disappeared?
2.
Temperate forest
Research the two main categories of trees in the temperate forest
(coniferous and deciduous). Why are their leaves different? How are
their seeds different? Put a twig from a coniferous tree
(cone-bearing tree with needles) in a cup of water and tightly
fasten a clear plastic bag around the needles. Put a twig from a
deciduous tree (leafy tree that loses its leaves in the fall) in a
cup of water and tightly fasten a clear plastic bag around the
leaves. Observe what happens and draw pictures of your
observations. Think of an explanation for what occurred and discuss
your explanation with your counselor.
3.
Aquatic ecosystem
With a parent's permission and guidance, visit an aquatic habitat
near your home. Examples include a stream, river, lake, pond,
ocean, and wetland (a marsh or swamp). Draw or photograph the area.
What are the most common types of plants growing there? What
animals did you see? Did you see, hear, or smell any evidence of
other animals? (Your evidence might include things like bird calls,
splashes of fish or frogs jumping, tracks, feathers, or bones.) How
do aquatic ecosystems affect your life? How have humans affected
the ecosystem? (Look for signs of humans such as trash and bridges
or walkways.) How do you think humans have affected the ecosystem
in ways you cannot see? (Think about fertilizer and pesticides
washing off your lawn and flowing into a stream. How would this
affect creatures that live in the water?) What can you do to
improve the quality of the ecosystem?
4.
Temperate or subtropical rain forest
Describe the three main levels of the rain forest (canopy,
understory, and forest floor). Make a drawing or model showing
examples of animals and plants that live at each level. Choose an
animal or plant from each level and explain how it is adapted to
its particular place in the rain forest.
5.
Desert
Choose a desert animal or plant. Make a model of it, draw it, or
describe it. Explain how it is particularly well adapted to survive
in a place where there is very little water. How would the desert
be different if this plant or animal were not there?
6.
Polar ice
Research an animal that can be found in the polar ice habitat. Draw
or make a model of the animal and name three characteristics that
make it well adapted for life in the very cold and snowy
environment.
7.
Tide pools
Explain how a tide pool is formed and describe several animals that
are found in tide pools. Make a model or draw a diagram of a tide
pool at a high intertidal zone and a low intertidal zone. Include
animals found in tide pools and explain how they adapt to their
constantly changing environment.
4.
Visit. Choose A or B and complete ALL the requirements.
A.
Visit a place where earth science is being done, used, explained, or
investigated, such as one of the following: cave, quarry or mine,
geology museum or the gem or geology section of a museum, gem and
mineral show, university geology department, TV or radio station
meteorology department, weather station, volcano or volcano research
station, or any other location where earth science is being done, used,
explained, or investigated.
1.
During your visit, talk to someone in charge about how people at
the site use or investigate a particular area of science. How could
this investigation make the world better?
2.
Discuss with your counselor the science being done, used,
explained, or investigated at the place you visited.
B.
Explore a career associated with earth science. Find out what subjects
you would need to study as you get older. What kind of education would
you need in the future to help explore Earth? What types of people
other than geologists explore Earth? Discuss with your counselor what
is needed to have a career in earth science.
5.
Discuss with your counselor how earth science affects your everyday life.