Junior Detective Badge in One Hour

Quick - I need a Junior badge the girls can complete in a 1 hour meeting!! That was me last week when I found out I would finally have the time to work exclusively with my Juniors. Because we're a multi-level troop, I have to divide my one hour every other week between the Brownies and Juniors. The problem is, the Brownies are working on a journey and the Juniors are not, so the older girls have been stuck working mostly on Brownie work. With my excitement over having a meeting JUST for my Juniors, I called out on Facebook requesting badges that are easy to complete in one hour. I've said it before, and I still stick to my guns on this, I am not a leader who hands out badges just because I want the girls to fill their sashes. And because I don't know when I'll have an opportunity like this again, I really wanted to finish an entire badge, not just start the work on one. I got tons of great ideas and, in the end, I ran with the Detective Badge.

There are tons of fun ideas for this badge - all of them are interactive and none of them are complicated. First, here are the steps for the Detective Badge requirements:

1. Practice the power of observation
2. Communicate in code
3. Fingerprint for fun
4. Try out detective science
5. Follow the clues to solve a real mystery!

Step 1: We did a real life 'spot the difference' game. I set out 20 objects on the table, gave the girls 30 seconds to study them, then had them turn around while I removed 5 random objects. I gave them another 30 seconds to list the objects they thought were missing. They had a lot of fun with this one and we repeated it for 3 rounds.

Step 2: I pre-wrote notes in Morse Code and had the girls use a chart to de-code them. After they translated their message, I had the girls write their own notes in code to swap with each other.

Step 3: I found a few different fingerprinting activities online, but this one appealed to me the most. First, you have the girls color about a 1" square on a piece of paper densely with pencil. Then they press their index finger firmly on the penciled area. In the blank space next to the colored square, have them press their 'inked' finger firmly again. Now they have a clear image of their finger prints and cleanup is MUCH easier than using ink. My final step was to have them identify which fingerprint classification theirs closest matched.

Step 4: I wanted something out of the box for this step, unlike the more common invisible ink or handwriting analysis activities I kept seeing. So I went forensic odontology - dental science. I had pre-cut rectangles of craft foam sheets. The girls folded their pieces in half, fit them in their mouths (bring scissors in case you need to trim them to fit) and bit down hard. Once the craft foam was removed and unfolded, they had their dental records right there in front of them! Afterwards, we learned about how this science is used in detective work. Optional game; write the girls' names on the backs of the foam, place them in a 'line-up' on the table and have the girls try to find out whose is whose. 

Step 5: I set up a follow-the-clues scavenger hunt that lead the girls to their badges, which were hidden in a trash can! Your clues will of course vary depending on your meeting space, and you can include more clues for the activity to last longer or fewer for a quick find. For example, my first clue for the girls read, "You're going to begin at the entry door, go to the opposite wall and count down four". They had to use their detective skills to find out what 'four' they were counting (it was lunch tables). The next clue was taped under that 4th table and so on until they solved all 5 clues leading them to their badges. Having their badges as the reward for their detective scavenger hunt made them so happy!

If you're in a bind for a last minute, one meeting badge to work on, I highly recommend the detective badge. None of the materials were specialty items and I had everything on hand. Also, the steps can be adjusted to fit your time and how much effort you want to put into prep work. 

If you have any other ideas that would work with this badge, definitely leave a comment so other leaders can get some inspiration!