Junior Girl Scout/PLANTS AND ANIMALS Complete the activities found within this packet while visiting the Huntington Gardens and earn a badge!

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1 Junior Girl Scout/PLANTS AND ANIMALS Complete the activities found within this packet while visiting the Huntington Gardens and earn a badge! Name: Troop: While earning this badge, you will explore the complex world of plants and animals! 1) Seed Hunt Any idea what a seed really is? A seed is covered by a protective coat. The coat protects the embryo which is the baby plant. The embryo uses the remaining nutritional contents in the seed to grow into a plant or sprout. Now its time to go exploring! Go out into the Huntington Gardens with a partner and find at least two different kinds of seeds. Take some time to talk about the seeds similarities and to compare and contrast. BE CAREFUL! Please do not walk far into the garden beds or pick anything! Once you find your seeds, come back to your group and share what you have found. How are they different? How are they the same? 2) Greenhouse Visit CONSERVATORY Now that you know how a plant starts out, you can find out how different plants are grown! Visit the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory and discover how different kinds of plants are grown. [If the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory is not open, please visit the Desert Conservatory in the Desert Garden]

2 3) Herb Search HERB GARDEN Now it s time to discover how plants can be used. Go over to the Herb Garden. Hunt around and see if you can find at least two of the following: An herb that is used in food or cooking. An herb that is used as a medicine An herb that is used as a scent or perfume Which ones did you find? Write down their names and uses below: 4) PESTS! Some plants and animals are considered pests because they damage crops, cause diseases and harm other plants and animals. Some creatures that may seem like pests are actually not formally considered pests because they are a source of food for others. Below are some pictures of plants and animals. Some are pests. Some are not. Which do you think are considered good or bad? Discuss why with your group. Make sure that you read their biographies before you make your decision. I m a flea. I suck the blood of warm-blooded animals. None of them can eat me, though, or else they will get sick. I also can spread disease. PEST: NOT A PEST:

3 I m a mosquito. I suck the blood of warm-blooded animals, but only if I m a female. Males generally only drink from fruits and plants. I also am a source of food for animals like bats and fish. PEST: NOT A PEST: I m a water hyacinth. You can see me everywhere down by the lily ponds. I don t have to be attached to the ground so I can float all around. I often choke out the other plants that live there. Soon the pond will be mine! PEST: NOT A PEST: I m a barrel cactus. If you come too close to me, you might get scratched because I have so many spines. I can survive without much water because I store it inside me. Lots of desert animals survive because of my water supply. PEST: NOT A PEST: Ever heard someone say Leaves of three, let it be? Well, that s me. I m poison oak. If you touch me or get my oil on your skin, you ll get a nasty rash. I live on the West Coast and my cousin, poison ivy, lives on the East Coast. PEST: NOT A PEST: I m a spider. I can live just about anywhere in the world. I spin a web to catch insects and sometimes use venom to stun or even kill animals much bigger than me. You didn t notice any pesky, buzzing insects while I m around, did you? PEST: NOT A PEST:

4 5) Animal Charades Time to use your creativity! You and a partner are going to act out an animal for the rest of your group. Motions are perfectly acceptable but NO NOISES! Here s the catch! In order for a guess to be correct, it also has to include the animal group to which it belongs. (Ex: you chose a monkey; a monkey is a mammal, etc.) [BEFORE YOU START THE GAME, COMPLETE THE SECTION BELOW!] Scientists categorize animals by certain features and characteristics. Below are the names of some animal groups and some of their common features. Write down the names of 2 examples of each: Mammals: All members of this group are warm-blooded. Most give birth to live babies that means their young don t hatch from eggs. They all also have some sort of hair or fur, as well as lungs to breathe air. Birds: All members of this group are warm-blooded. They lay eggs from which their young hatch. They all have feathers of some kind or another. They also have lungs to breathe air. Reptiles: All members of this group are cold-blooded. They lay leathery, firm eggs from which their young hatch. They also have scaly skin and lungs to breathe air. Amphibians: Most members of this group are cold-blooded. They lay soft eggs in water from which their young hatch. Their skin is slimy with lots of pores. Most of them have gills when they are very young which disappear as they grow older and start using their lungs to breathe air. Fish: All members of this group have gills, which they use to breathe underwater since they do not have lungs. That means that they must live in water. They also have scales and lay eggs.

5 6) Animal Group Scavenger Hunt You are now more aware of which types of animals belong to which animal groups. For this next activity, you and a partner will go out exploring in the Huntington Gardens and see what animals you can discover. Specifically, find two or more examples of animals that belong in different animal groups. In the spaces below, first fill in the animal group. Then identify the animals you spotted which belong to that group. Be sure to mention how you know each animal belongs to that group! #1) Animal Group: #2) Animal Group: #3) Animal Group: #4) Animal Group:

6 AT HOME ACTIVITIES There are more places to complete this badge beyond The Huntington. There is one more required activity before you can get your badge! 7) Seed Race This next activity should be completed at home! Since seeds take different amounts of time to grow, let s try an experiment to see which seed wins a sprout race! You will need: Potting Soil 6 Kinds of Seeds ½ of an Egg Carton A Spoon Water - Fill each section of the egg carton with about two tablespoons of potting soil. - Put one kind of seed in each section. Label each section - Cover the seeds with soil and sprinkle with water. Add some water every day. - Write down what you see happening each day in your own seed journal to keep track of the progress of your garden. When did you see little green leaves pushing up through the dirt? How long did it take? Did some of these plants grow faster than others? Use a ruler to measure the height of each of the plants as they grow. Move the plants to small pots with more soil. When they are bigger (at least 6 tall), try planting your sprouted seeds outside (if it s warm enough!). CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DID IT!