Requirements: My Heritage

Complete any six of the following requirements to earn this badge:

1. Create a Heritage Scrapbook Find out more about your heritage. Do you know your family history or the history of other people who share your heritage? Display what you find out, perhaps through a char, a time line, a family tree, journal entries, a story, or a scrapbook of photographs or mementos.

2. What’s In a Name? See if you can discover the meaning of your first name, your middle name, or your family name. Find out about other people who have the same name. Do they have a heritage similar to yours, or are there other reasons or sources for the name?

3. Broaden Your Background Find out about famous people who share your heritage. What did they accomplish? Why are they famous? Think about an accomplishment that you would like to make someday. Then think of a way you could accomplish this dream, and write a simple plan or time line with your dream as a goal.

4. Celebrate Your Heritage Find a way to celebrate your heritage. What have you inherited that makes you the person you are? How can you sow that you are proud of your heritage?

5. From Yesterday to Today Make a toy, cook a special dish, or learn a game, song, or dance that one of your ancestors might have enjoyed.

6. Who Said It? Begin a “wisdom list” of quotations, sayings, and advice that your parents, grandparents, and other older people have shared with you. Put together a booklet that includes your favorite ones.

7. Get Together Ask older people to tell you about their lives, interesting events they remember, or special stories. Can you discover something about your heritage from their stories?

8. Your Personal Heritage Start a diary or scrapbook of your own memories. Write about some important events from your childhood and include important recent happenings. Try to write in your diary at least once a week.

9. Memorably Yours Look around your room or your home and choose one object that you believe you would want to keep with you as you grow up. Why did you choose this object? Why is it important to you? Next, ask older friends or relatives to show you and tell you about an object that they have had for a long time. Why have they kept it? Why is it important to them?

10. Host a Heritage Night Turn one of your Girl Scout troop meetings or events into a heritage celebration. Each girl can share three things about her heritage. Show pictures, read poetry, display artwork, or prepare food that reflects your heritage. You can also teach a game, song, or dance from your heritage.