Sweet Briar College will host its fifth annual Brownie Science Try-It Day on Saturday, Jan. 29 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Josey Dining Room of Prothro Dining Hall. The event was postponed last Saturday because of a winter storm.

More than 100 Brownie Girl Scouts from troops in Amherst and Bedford counties, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg are registered. Each can earn up to five badges during the event, including four water- and conservation-themed Try-It badges and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Water Drop patch. The latter is a special project developed by the EPA and Girl Scouts.

Because Girl Scouts are Brownies in first through third grades, the program rotates every three years, said program coordinator Jill Granger, SBC associate professor of chemistry. That means girls who return each year can work on a total of 15 badges - which covers most of their math and science requirements.

For each badge, participants must finish four hands-on science activities based on Girl Scout handbook guidelines. Twenty tables will be set up with projects ranging from making a rock to demonstrating how vegetation prevents soil erosion. A volunteer faculty member or student from Sweet Briar, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, or Lynchburg College runs each activity.

Granger says Sweet Briar's version of Try-It Day maximizes opportunities for area Scouts to earn badges. Most girls can finish three badges and get started on the other two over the course of the day while spending about 15 minutes on each activity.

"Some kids are like dynamos and they finish everything," she said, noting that the Brownies choose the order and speed they want to go. "I'd rather they go at their own pace and be comfortable and have fun." There won't be any flicking of the lights and barking, "Next activity!"

The girls have an index card to keep track of activities they have to complete when they return to their own troops. "We have a lot of troop leaders who are really organized," Granger said. "They know what things we're offering, they know what they need and they know what's the hardest to do in a troop setting and they'll go for those."

Try-it Day is a service project of the local chapter of Iota Sigma Pi, a national honor society for women who excel in chemistry. About 30 volunteers from the three colleges and local Girl Scouts bring it all together. Participants pay $5 for lunch and a Sweet Briar participation patch. The honor society covers all other expenses.

For more information, please contact Jill Granger, associate professor of chemistry, at (434) 381-6166 or granger@sbc.edu.