Time needed: 30–45 minutes
Most people feel a strong personal attachment to the town, neighborhood, or city that they call home. It is where we live, play, and spend most of our time. Our communities are almost like living things and they need new ideas in order to grow.
You are going to come up with an idea that could help your community grow.
Entrepreneurs are people that solve problems to make our lives better. Sometimes they create something brand new and sometimes they look at familiar products and come up with improvements to make them even better.
Every entrepreneur starts with an idea! Ideas can come from observing your surroundings and being curious about how things work. Everyone has the ability to come up with an idea—it’s what you do to bring it to life that makes you an entrepreneur.
How can you use your own creativity and imagination to improve something about your community?
Take out a sheet of paper and sit in a space that inspires your imagination. It could be next to a sunny window, under a tree, or at a nearby park. And if you can, taking a walk around your neighborhood might be an even better way to get your creativity flowing! As you sit or walk, ask yourself these questions:
Think about places like your local park, favorite store, or place of worship. Maybe you could come up with a way to make a playground more fun for kids with physical challenges or something that could make a street crossing safer.
Now, choose one idea and build or draw a prototype! A prototype is a quick way to show your idea to others or to try it out. It can be as simple as a drawing, or it could be a 3D model made with things like cardboard, paper, string, rubber bands, or things you might find in a recycle bin.
Use your imagination and be creative! You can work on your own, with a partner, or in a small group. Then share what you come up with!
Think about these questions:
Troop Leaders: The instructions for all badge steps are
available free of charge in the Girl Scout Volunteer Toolkit.
Girl Scout Activity Zone activities have been adapted from existing Girl Scout programming.