Nature at Night

Nature at Night is a Junior Badge from Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey.

The pdf of the requirements can be found here.
The order form for those outside the council can be found here.

# Description

This is an exciting patch program that teaches girls about nocturnal animals, constellations, and
much more! To earn this patch, complete 6 of the activities listed below.

# Activities

1.Several kinds of birds are nocturnal including owls and nightjars. Learn about the
adaptations that helps these birds during nighttime. Go on a walk at dusk or after dark to
look for these birds. Optional: Dissect an owl pellet and find out what the owl ate!

2. Take a night hike. Use a flashlight covered with red cellophane so your night vision is not
affected by the light and walk as quietly
as you can. Discuss your experiences and
observations. How does it feel to walk at night compared to the daytime? What senses did
you rely on more?

3. Animals, including people, have two kinds of cell
s in their eyes, rods and cones. Learn what
rods and cones do and how the eyes of nocturnal and diurnal (active during the day)
animals differ. Play
What color is that?
(Details below.)

4. There are many nocturnal animals in New Jersey. Learn why five species of wildlife are
active at night. What adaptations do these animals have to nightlife?

5. Learn how to identify sounds of nocturnal animals by listening to animal sound CD’s or
sound clips from the internet. Then go outside and listen to your local nocturnal animals.

6. New Jersey is an extremely important state to
migrating birds. Many birds migrate during
the night. Learn why birds migrate at night, how they navigate in the dark and why New
Jersey is so important to our feathered friends.

7. Choose a constellation and learn the myth behi
nd it. Share your myth. Make a shadow box
of your constellation or learn how to lo
cate constellations using a star map.

8. Learn what causes day to turn into night. Why are the stars not seen during the day? What
causes a solar eclipse and the phases of the moon?

9. Many animals that live in hot climates, like the desert, are active at night. Learn about the
adaptations these animals have to help them survive.

10. Native Americans use myths to explain why things happen in the natural world. Read and
compare several myths that explain what causes nighttime to occur or why certain animals
are active at night.

11. Learn about the similarities and differences of butterflies and moths. Then go
Moth Sugaring. (Details below.)

12. Bats are a very important part of the ecosystem. Learn how they help people and how they
are similar to us. Discover how bats navigate through echolocation. Make a bat craft or a
bat box.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
WHAT COLOR IS THAT?
Supplies needed:
1. A partner
2. Index cards
3. Markers
4. 2 paper bags
Directions:
1. Put index cards and markers in two separate paper bags. Do not
let the girls look at the colors of the markers.
2. Go outside (or to a very dimly lit room) and start the game after
spending 30 minutes in the dark.
3. Sit 8 feet across from your partner.
4. Take a marker out of the marker bag. Write the name of the
color you think it is on the index card. Draw a circle on the other
side of the index card and show it to your partner. Write the color
that your partner guesses next to the circle. Take turns using
several different markers. (Note: The circle is used to indicate
which guess belongs to whom. The writer’s guess is always
written on the side without the circle.)
5. Go inside and compare the colors you guessed to the answers.
Optional: Play the game again but draw different shapes. This time, guess the colors and the
shapes your partner drew on the index card.
MOTH SUGARING
Supplies needed:
1. 1 almost overripe banana
2. Bowl
3. Spoon
4. 2oz. of apple cider
vinegar
5. ½ lb. brown sugar
6. Plastic wrap
7. Small bucket
8. Wide paintbrush
9. Flashlight
10. Red plastic wrap or red
tissue paper
Directions:
1. Peel banana and mash in bowl until pasty.
2. Add vinegar and brown sugar to banana. Mixture should be
as thick as latex paint. If it is too thin, add more banana.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and store in warm place indoors
overnight.
4. Find an open space with several large trees.
5. Just before sunset, pour mixture into a bucket and use a
paintbrush to apply a thick coat of the mixture onto the bark of
3 trees.
6. A few hours after dark, check the trees for moths. Use a
flashlight covered with red plastic wrap or red tissue paper.
Observe moths and other insects that are eating the mixture.
Use a field guide to identify the insects.