Best Bones

**BEST BONES**

Brownie Girl Scout Try-It

We take many things for granted
in life. For instance, have you ever thought about your bones? Bones are the
framework of your body. Strong bones will help you look and feel your best.
Osteoporosis, or porous bones, is a gradual loss of bone mass that causes bone
to become brittle and easily break. You can prevent osteoporosis from happening
to you when you get older by building strong bones NOW.

Purpose: To educate girls and
adults about osteoporosis basics, their skeletons, and why calcium and exercise
are important for bone strength.
Requirements: Complete four activities, including three with a single asterisk
(\*).
Notes: This project should be done as a troop/group project.

**Best Bones Try-Its** are available for
purchase at the Council Shop.

A Leader Packet is available
for purchase at the Council Shop, for $1.25. This includes The Leader's Guide
to the Best Bones Try-It which is a comprehensive reference that can be used as
a background for adults working with troops/groups completing Best Bones
requirements.

**1. All About Bones**
Bones give your body shape, protect parts inside you, help you walk, run, and
jump, and move in many ways.

a) Cut out and put together a
paper skeleton using fasteners. How may bones can you name? Using a word blank,
write the names of the bones on the backside of your skeleton.

b) The bones of your skeleton
fit together at joints. There are more than 200 joints in your body. Without
joints, your skeleton could not move. Shoulders, elbows, and ankles are joints.
How may joints can you think of? Place "X's" on the paper skeleton
where joints are found.

**2. Learning About Calcium and**
Bone
(Osteoporosis)
Calcium is what makes your bones hard. In fact, some kinds of rocks are made of
calcium. Calcium is what makes seashells hard, too. When someone loses the
calcium in their bones, they are said to have a disease called osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a fancy word for saying "bones full of holes." When
someone doesn't get enough calcium, their bones become full of holes. Try this
easy experiment to see what bones would be like if they had no calcium in them.

*What you'll need:*

1. Two small chicken bones (they are a lot like your own bones!)
2. Two jars with lids
3. One cup of vinegar
4. Tap water

*What to do:*

1. Put one chicken bone in each jar.
2. Cover one bone with vinegar and the other with tap water.
3. Put the lids on the jars.

*What to look for:*

After about two days, remove the bones. Try to bend the tip of each. Which one
bends? Check the bones again after another two to three days. Try to bend them
in the middle. Which one got softer? Try cutting them with scissors.

What happened and why:

Calcium - hard as it is - dissolves in an acid like vinegar. The soft, rubbery
bone in the vinegar jar has lost its calcium, showing what your bones would be
like without this essential nutrient.

You need calcium not only to
grow strong bones, but to keep them strong. Calcium enters and leaves them
everyday. That is why we continue to need to get calcium from our foods even
after we have stopped growing.

**3. Family Health History**
Ask your parent or guardian about who in your family has or has had problems
with their bones. If someone in your family has or has had a problem with their
bones, what is it called? What does or did that person do to take care of their
problem?

**4. \* Calcium in Your Food**
Foods like milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and calcium fortified orange juice
contain calcium. Calcium is important for healthy bones. Children between ages
4-8 need 3-4 foods/drinks (800 milligrams) a day that contain calcium. How many
times a day do you have one of the foods listed above? Plan and bring a snack
to share with your troop/group using at least one of the foods listed above.

**5. \* Exercise and Your Bones**
Certain exercises are good for your bones. Activities like walking, running,
and jumping make your bones strong. What activities do you do that include
walking, running, or jumping? (For example: soccer, dancing, jumping rope,
tennis, or gymnastics.) How often do you do one or more of these activities?
Try a new activity that includes walking, running, or jumping at home or at
your troop/group meeting. Talk with your troop/group about other activities you
could try to strengthen your bones.

**6. Chart Your Future**
A helpful way to do things to keep your bones healthy is to use a chart. Record
how many times you eat foods with calcium (For example: milk, yogurt, ice
cream, cheese, or calcium-fortified orange juice) each day for one week. See
your troop/group leader for a blank chart.