BSTID

	Brownie Science Try-It Day
	at Sweet Briar College
	Sponsored by: Iota Sigma Pi, the National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry Lanthanum Chapter and The Student-Affiliate Chapters of the American Chemical Society at Sweet Briar College, Randolph College, and Lynchburg College

When is Brownie Science Try-It Day 2009?
Brownie Science Try-It Day for 2009 will be held on a Saturday in mid-January 2009.
A Snow Date will also be designated.

BSTID 2008 was scheduled to have TWO SESSIONS on Jan 19 2008:
Session I: 9:30 - 1:30
Session II: 2:30 - 6:30
... but sadly Session II was postponed due to inclement weather.
It was held in the morning on Jan 26 2008.

BSTID 2007 WAS HELD ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 20TH

Where is BSTID?
Sweet Briar College is located just 12 miles north of Lynchburg, VA, on Rt. 29. This is about a 1 hour drive SOUTH of Charlottesville, VA. For driving directions, click here: http://www.sbc.edu/about/directions.html?directions.
The event is held in the College's cafeteria, Prothro Dining Hall, which is a part of the student commons facility. For a campus map, click here: http://www.sbc.edu/map/
Prothro is building #41 on this map! Parking areas are designated with a "P".

Who can come to BSTID?
Registered Brownie Girl Scouts! Our focus is on the Lynchburg area, including Amherst, Nelson, and Campbell counties. Troops from outside that focus region are welcome to apply for registration and will be served on a space available basis.
All girls attending MUST BE officially registered with a Girl Scout troop for the year.

What will we do at BSTID?
When your troop arrives, one leader will check-in. She will recieve name tags, and try-it cards for each girl who is registered. The troop leader will need to divide the girls into groups of 5. (Groups of 4 may be allowed, but you will need to ask about that at check-in.) If you have a group of 2 or 3 girls, they will be partnered with another group of 3 or 2 girls from another troop. The girls MUST stay with this group for the entire day! Experience has shown that it is best if each troop brings enough adults to have one adult with each group of girls. Because of the self-paced schedule, it would be best to group girls of similar age and readiness together.
Once the girls are settled in and the clock has chimed time to start, each group gains entry to the Try-It room. There you will find 20 different tables, one for each activity of the five designated Try-Its for the year. The group of girls will spend, on average, 15 minutes at each table. Some activities may take a little longer, some a little shorter. Our philosophy is that the girls should experience the activities at a pace that is comfortable to them - so there will be no designated schedule maintained once they have begun their explorations. Girls move from table to table as their interest guides them and as tables become available. Once they have finished an activity, the table leader will initial the girls' try-it card. (The girls hand these cards into the troop leader at the end of the day so that the leader has a record of what each girl accomplished.) Again, we have found that having an adult chaparone with each group of girls can help them stay on task and approach accomplishing each of the Try-its in an organized fashion.
Girls may break for lunch at whatever time suits their interest and hunger level. Once finished with lunch, they come back for more explorations. The faculty and students who volunteer at the activity tables may also choose to take a short break sometime during the day, girls and leaders should wait for the volunteer to return before trying that activity.
The day will be ended with a large group discussion or demonstration.

Try-Its are currently on a three-year rotation
(We are thinking of changing to a two-year rotation, to coincide with the GS changes in age/troop designation... stay tuned for a final decision on this!)
If we stick with the three-year rotation - this is the order:
BSTID 2009 will be Science Wizardry, Senses, My Body, Numbers and Shapes, and Math Fun.
BSTID 2010 will be Sciecne in Action, Science Wonders, Plants, Building Art, and Eco-Explorer
BSTID 2011 will be Water Everywhere, Earth is Home, Movers, Earth & Sky, and the EPA's Water Drop patch

How do we get registered for BSTID?
Send a Program Registration Form (GS form 2680), a list of girls attending, and payment to Jill Granger, 206 Guion Science Center, Sweet Briar, VA 24574. Registration will begin on Dec. 1st and will close when the program is full. Registrations will not be confirmed until payment is received. Checks may be made out to Iota Sigma Pi.
Your troop must bring enough adults with your girls to meet GS Safety-wise guidelines.

What are the Costs?
Registration for Brownies is $9 per scout. (Price will not change for 2009!)
This includes her lunch, all supplies, and a participation patch. (Try-it patches are not included.)
Adult registration is $6 per adult. This will cover lunch only.
ALL scouts must be paid in advance and must be paid before the registration will be confirmed.
Adults may pay for their lunch in advance or at the door. (The "at door" price for adult lunch may be slightly higher than $5.)
This is not a fundraising event for the ISP organization, for the SAACS club, or for SBC -- all registration fees are spent entirely on program costs. All adults who participate to provide the program for your scouts are 100% volunteer.
What about scholarships? We do not have any funds for scholarships, but we suggest that Troop Leaders apply for financial assistance through the GSVSC on behalf of their scouts whenever necessary.

What about Refunds?
Registration fees will be refundable up to ten days before the program. Refund requests must be made in writing.

What about Inclement Weather?
Because road conditions in January cannot be predicted in advance, we will make every attempt to notify troop leaders or named troop contact persons if the event gets postponed or cancelled. We will make every effort to have this information available early in the day on the event date... but an early decision that morning may be necessitated. You may call to find out about postponement or cancellation by calling Jill Granger at 434-381-6166. In the case of inclement weather on the date of the event, and depending on available weather forecasts at the time, snow dates will be set aside and will be considered.
Road conditions will not necessarily be consistent throughout the central Virginia region. We will base our decision on road conditions in the Lynchburg and Amherst areas. You should use your best judgement about travel to/from your area.
NOTE: We will not be able to refund registration fees for scouts or troops who cannot attend due to inclement weather or road conditions unless the event is cancelled. In the case that the event is cancelled completely, all registration fees will be refunded.

How many girls will be able to attend?
We close registration at 100 max. per session. Girls are registered on a first-come, first-served basis as payment is recieved.
In past years, the event has filled VERY quickly. We do maintain a wait list and will contact troop leaders on the wait list whenever openings come available.
We will open registration on Dec. 1st.

Can I substitute girls?
Yes. Say for example that you register and pay for 10 girls in December, but you find out in January that Susie Scout cannot attend. You can substitute another girl, Brownie Brown, in her place. Just remember that ALL girls attending MUST BE registered Brownies. Contact Jill Granger, by phone or email, to make the substitution on your troop list.

What if I have a scout who cannot attend, but I don't have a substitute? We can refund your money (if it's 10 days before the event), just ask for it in writing! OR We can open her spot up to a girl on the waiting list. Jill can help you with this substitution if it's possible -- so please contact Jill whenever your registration list changes.

But... but... but...
What if, at the last minute, I have a scout who cannot attend (due to illness, travel restrictions, change of plans, miscommunication, etc.), can I get a refund for the absent scout?
Unfortunately we cannot give last minute refunds for any reason unless the program is cancelled completely. By 10-days prior to the event, we have already invested all program registration fees into supplies, materials, patches, meals, and rentals. There is no money to refund.

Could I substitute an absent scout's registration fee for an adult lunch?
Again, sorry, no. We are billed separately for scouts' meals and adults. The scouts are paid for in advance. Adults who are not registered in advance must pay for their lunch at the door.

Can I get participation patches for girls who were registered but are absent?
No. Only girls in attendance will get a participation patch.

What if one of my scouts has a cousin visiting? Can she come too?
All participants MUST BE registered PRIOR to the event. There will be NO last minute additions. So - yes, she can come BUT ONLY if she's a registered girl scout and ONLY IF you register her for the program in advance with your troop.

What about siblings? Can they come?
They can not participate. There is no place for them to sit in the program area. We would suggest that you take them to the Children's library on Campus, to the book shop, to the Bistro, for a walk on campus, or to the campus playground. But please don't bring them to the BSTID event. And remember that you must have enough adults present to meet Safety-wise guidelines for your troop - so if an adult leaves to take care of siblings, you still need to have Safety-wise covered on-site.

What about Juinors? Can they come?
No. It's Brownie Science Try-It Day. We do have a few Juniors who help out as Junior-Aids for the day. They help with bathroom runs, washing hands before lunch, carrying trays, running errands for the table leaders, etc... These girls are selected in advance and receive training prior to the event. But no, Juniors cannot register for this event as participants and should not show up unannounced to the event.

Any Other Questions?
Please contact: Jill Granger at (434) 381-6166 or by email at granger@sbc.edu

Pictures from BSTID 2005 - left, Professor Robin Davies; right, SBC student Jessica