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Scout Programs

Cub Scouts Boy Scout Merit Badges Girl Scouts
All Scouts: History, Heritage and Community Achievements Fees and General Information

Our staff can help your scouts earn their rank achievements and special awards. The Preserves provide the perfect setting for historical, environmental, and plant-related scout badges and patches. Our programs offer unique, hands-on opportunities to experience nature and history in an interactive environment.

If you don’t find the exact program you are looking for, please contact us. We may be equipped to offer a specialized program for your group.

We also offer a variety of resources, including loan backpacks, loan kits, self guided trail brochures and more.

Contact

History, Heritage, and Community Achievements; and Museum tours
Katie Riopelle kriopelle@ccfpd.org (217) 586-2612

Other Scout Programs, and Interpretive Center Tours
Savannah Hampson shampson@ccfpd.org (217) 896-2455

Cub Scouts

  • Tiger Cubs
  • Wolf Cubs
  • Bear Cubs
  • Webelos
  • All Scouts

Choose one, two, or three electives to design your own 60- or 90-minute program:

  • Elective 30: Plant a Seed
  • Elective 31: Learn About Animals
  • Elective 32: Feed the Birds
  • Elective 34: Conservation
  • Elective 47: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
  • Elective 13: Birds: We will learn about native birds and how they are different from other types of animals. Take a hike to search for birds, and help us fill our bird feeders! (60-90 minutes)
  • Elective 15: Grow Something: Visit the Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden at Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve. At the Discovery Garden, we will plant flower and vegetable seeds indoors and outdoors (weather permitting). You can return on your own to see how they have grown! (60-90 minutes)
  • Elective 19: Fishing: We will learn about native fish, local fishing laws, and the rules of safe fishing. Rig a pole, practice casting, bait a hook, and wait for a bite! Fishing will be catch-and-release only; no fishing licenses are required for children 16 and under. We will provide cane poles. Please provide your own bait. (90 minutes)
  • Achievement 5: Sharing Your World with Wildlife: Visit our Homer Lake Interpretive Center, and find out what it is like to be an environmental educator. Learn about the animals that share our world and how we can protect them. (60-90 minutes)
  • Elective 14: Landscaping: Visit the Discovery Garden at Mabery Gelvin Botanical Gardens at Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, and help us care for our flower beds and vegetable gardens.  We will also plant seeds and make miniature greenhouses to take home. (60-90 minutes)
  • Elective 15: Water and Soil Conservation: We will experiment with different kinds of soil, visit an area of prairie or forest that has undergone a prescribed burn, and explore erosion control. After the program, your group can help clean up our lake as you discuss water pollution. (60-90 minutes)
  • Forester Activity Badge: Identify native trees and plants at the preserves, and find out why they are an important part of life here on Earth. (90 minutes)
  • Naturalist Activity Badge: Join us to learn about the different ecosystems that make up our forest preserves. You will examine an aquatic ecosystem up-close! (90 minutes)
  • Wildlife Conservation Belt Loop & Academics Pin: Visit our Homer Lake Interpretive Center to learn about the wild side of life: camouflage, food chains, natural resources, endangered species, and more! (90 minutes)
  • Hiking Belt Loop: Discuss the basics of hiking safety, then hit the trails for a guided nature hike. (60-90 minutes)
  • Fishing Belt Loop: We will learn about native fish, local fishing laws, and the rules of safe fishing. Rig a pole, practice casting, bait a hook, and wait for a bite! Fishing will be catch-and-release only; no fishing licenses are required for children 16 and under. We will provide cane poles. Please provide your own bait. (90 minutes)

Boy Scout Merit Badges
The Museum and Education Department would be happy to assist you in earning the following badges, working with your counselor.

Bird Study: Learn the parts of a bird and how birds are important indicators of environmental quality. We will explore why birds call, and identify different birds by their songs and appearance. Create your own field notebook, practice using a field guide and binoculars, and take a hike to look for native birds. (2-3 hours)

Environmental Science: We will perform experiments to discover how living things respond to changes in their environment and how to reduce the effects of an oil spill. Explore the history of environmental science, learn some ecological terminology, and review an environmental impact statement. Find out what the CCFPD has done locally to protect threatened and endangered species, and discuss related career opportunities. (3-4 hours)

American Heritage: We’ll assist you in doing genealogy, finding places on the National Register, or researching an event of historical importance in the area. Find out how your town or neighborhood started or take part in a program about history with the staff of the Museum of the Grand Prairie.

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Girl Scouts

  • Daisy Activities
  • Brownie Try-Its
  • Jurnior Badges

Choose any three activities to design your own 90-minute program:

  • Alphabet Hike
  • Nature in Action
  • Cool Ways to Count
  • Discovery Boxes
  • Move with Me
  • Sound Sense
  • Working with Clay
  • Thumbprint Figures
  • What’s in the Bag?
  • Dye-Tie Butterflies

Brownie Try-Its (90 minutes each):

  • Animals: Meet the resident animals at the Homer Lake Interpretive Center, then go for a hike to look for signs of animals in the wild.
  • Outdoor Adventurer: We will use a guide to follow a nature trail, search for the smallest living creatures, practice building a survival shelter, and use our senses to explore life off the trail.
  • Watching Wildlife: Learn about animals by observing them in their natural habitats. Get up-close and personal with earthworms.
  • Water Everywhere: Explore water conservation and why it is important. We’ll take you pond-dipping to see what creatures live below the water.
  • Earth and Sky: Together we will examine soil, collect temperature readings, learn about erosion, and search for birds and flying insects.

Junior Badges:

  • Earth Connections: Identify the trees, native plants, and animals of the prairie and woodland habitats around you. Age trees, examine an ecosystem, and learn how Native Americans once used these plants for food and medicine. (2-3 hours)
  • Frosty Fun: Create icy art, investigate snowflakes, practice tracking in the snow, and learn how native wildlife adapts to the winter weather. (2-3 hours)
  • Outdoors in the City: A naturalist will come to your neighborhood for this program. Together, we will explore the unique outdoor opportunities that your area has to offer. (60-90 minutes)
  • Wildlife: Discover in-depth the wild animals and plants that live in our forest preserves and what makes them unique. We will learn how to identify poisonous plants, as well as some of nature’s remedies. Make your own field notebook, and put it to use during a hike through different types of habitats. (2-3 hours)
  • Your Outdoor Surroundings: A preserve naturalist will guide you as we hike and explore the preserves together. Gather natural materials to classify, and brainstorm ways that we can protect life and the environment. (2-3 hours)

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All Scouts: History, Heritage, and Community Achievements

Staff at the Museum of the Grand Prairie can provide Scout leaders with free information and Activity Pages to help your Pack or Troop fulfill the requirements listed below. Please contact Charlie Tice for more information.

  • A Self-Guided Trip through the Museum (Please email Charlie Tice or call
    217-586-2612 to schedule a time for your group to visit).
  • About Community – Finding Out About Where You Live
  • Learning Community – How to be an Active Member
  • Family Stories – Your Own History and Heritage
  • Family Heritage – Creating a Time Capsule
  • Write All About It – Journaling and Keeping History
  • My Grandmother Was a Seamstress, My Grandfather Was a Blacksmith – How Professions Have Changed Through the Years

Can’t find what you’re looking for? We work with Scout leaders to connect you with resources to satisfy your individual group’s needs. Contact Charlie Tice for information or requests.

Fees and General Information

60- to 90-minute program $25 for up to 20 scouts + $1.50 for each additional scout
2- to 4- hour program $50 for up to 20 scouts + $1.50 for each additional scout
(These programs may require 2 sessions to complete.)
Guided Hike (45-60 minutes) $25 (maximum capacity: 20 scouts per hike)
Guided Tour of the Homer Lake Interpretive Center (20 min): FREE (maximum capacity: 30 scouts per tour)
Self-Guided Tour of the Museum of the Grand Prairie (30-90 min): FREE (maximum capacity: 15 scouts per tour)
History, Heritage & Community Achievement activity pages FREE

Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance. To better serve you, we require that scout leaders provide 1 adult chaperone for every 5 scouts. Nametags are appreciated.

For scout programs that take place outdoors, participants must dress for the weather. Some scout programs are only offered seasonally and at specific locations.

Please note: Participation in these scout programs does not fulfill all requirements for a badge or patch. Scouts will need to complete additional work in their pack or troop. Scout leaders must provide their own badges, patches, pins, belt loops, or awards.

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