- My Heritage
- Your heritage is a tradition or something that is passed down to you from preceding
generations. Discover something about your own heritage by making a Family Tree showing
where your parents and grandparents were born. Find out about the history of your family or
of people who share your cultural or ethnic background. Share a family photograph or
memento at a troop meeting.
- Prepare a "time capsule" using a box or container in which you place objects or pictures
that show your life and the life in your community at the present time. Store your capsule
in a special place. Who will open your capsule and when?
- Share your ethnic heritage with the other members of your troop. Learn a game, song,
dance or make a special food dish that represents your family's culture. You could have
an international party at a troop meeting.
- Discover the meaning of your first, middle and last name. Find out about others who
share your names.
- Many families celebrate special times and events in different ways. Ask each girl
to share how her family celebrates holidays, birthdays, marriages, and the coming of age.
Are some of the family traditions different? How are they the same?
- My Community
- Visit a historic site either in your community, nearby or in the state.
- Every community has its own heritage. Find out about your community. What historical
places, industries or special points of interest are located there?
- Conduct a heritage hike in your community. Visit landmarks, museums, and other
points of interest. Are the streets in your town named after people who still live
there?
- How was your community founded? What was life like 50 or 100 years ago? Try to
locate photographs that show what life was like years ago in your town.
- Contact your local newspaper. See if they can show you the development of your
community over the past 50 or 100 years.
- Find out who the Girl Scout leaders of your community have been in the past and who
they are today. See if you can interview a past leader and ask her what activities they
did which were the same or different from the ones you participate in today.
- Visit your local library or historical society and request a copy of an old map of
your community. Compare it with a new map. How have things changed?
- Visit an old cemetery. What unusual names can you find on the old tombstones? Do any
people with these names still live in your town? Make a list of epitaphs, do a rubbing,
or weed and clean up a neglected gravesite.
- Visit a branch of city, town or county government that makes policy or laws for your
community or visit your local police department to find out what they do.
- There are Cultural & Heritage Commissions in each county whose purpose is to
preserve the county's heritage. Find out what the commission is doing in your county.
- My State
- Make a map of New Jersey. Designate its counties, state capital and points of interest.
Locate where the girls in your troop were born.
- There is a covered bridge pictured on this patch. Find out how many covered bridges are
left in the state and where this one is located. Visit it if you can. It is located within
our Council!
- What is the New Jersey state bird, animal, insect, flower and tree? What is New
Jersey's nickname?
- New Jersey has many recreational areas. What are some in your area? Which ones can you
camp at? Visit one nearby or in another part of the state.
- Find out about famous people or places in New Jersey. Make up a skit or game about
people, places or events in New Jersey.
- Design a poster, bumper sticker, ad campaign or brochure to show others what New Jersey
has to offer.
- Do one activity to find out more about the Arts available in New Jersey:
- Attend a concert, play or dance program.
- Visit or learn about a local artist.
- Paint a mural about New Jersey.
- Attend a cultural or ethnic festival.
- Service Projects
- Carry out a service project within your community.
- Design a walking tour of your community to assist newcomers to your town. Make a
map, give directions and descriptions. You could make a cassette tape to accompany the tour.
- Help solve a community problem. What would you change or improve to make life
better in your community. Write a letter about your ideas to government officials in
your community.
- Volunteer a couple of hours at a local historical society, library, chamber of
commerce, museum, city hall or other community agency.
- Are there people in your community who are hungry? Homeless? In need of clothes or
other necessities? Find out what you can do to help and follow through.
- Compile a songbook, cookbook, crafts book, or a book on folktales for your community,
or area of the state. Share it with others.
- Share what you have learned about your community and New Jersey with a group of
younger Girl Scouts.
- Make a directory of the historic sites in your town or area. Distribute it amongst
your Service Unit.
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