BEST BONES
Brownie Girl Scout Try-It

We take many things for granted in life. For instance, have you ever thought about your bones? Bones are the framework of your body. Strong bones will help you look and feel your best. Osteoporosis, or porous bones, is a gradual loss of bone mass that causes bone to become brittle and easily break. You can prevent osteoporosis from happening to you when you get older by building strong bones NOW.

Purpose: To educate girls and adults about osteoporosis basics, their skeletons, and why calcium and exercise are important for bone strength.
Requirements: Complete four activities, including three with a single asterisk (*).
Notes: This project should be done as a troop/group project.

Best Bones Try-Its are available for purchase at the Council Shop.

A Leader Packet is available for purchase at the Council Shop, for $1.25. This includes The Leader's Guide to the Best Bones Try-It which is a comprehensive reference that can be used as a background for adults working with troops/groups completing Best Bones requirements.

1.

All About Bones
Bones give your body shape, protect parts inside you, help you walk, run, and jump, and move in many ways.
a) Cut out and put together a paper skeleton using fasteners. How may bones can you name? Using a word blank, write the names of the bones on the backside of your skeleton.
b) The bones of your skeleton fit together at joints. There are more than 200 joints in your body. Without joints, your skeleton could not move. Shoulders, elbows, and ankles are joints. How may joints can you think of? Place "X's" on the paper skeleton where joints are found.
2.   Learning About Calcium and Bone
(Osteoporosis)
Calcium is what makes your bones hard. In fact, some kinds of rocks are made of calcium. Calcium is what makes seashells hard, too. When someone loses the calcium in their bones, they are said to have a disease called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a fancy word for saying "bones full of holes." When someone doesn't get enough calcium, their bones become full of holes. Try this easy experiment to see what bones would be like if they had no calcium in them.
What you'll need:
 
1. Two small chicken bones (they are a lot like your own bones!)
2. Two jars with lids
3. One cup of vinegar
4. Tap water
What to do:
 
1. Put one chicken bone in each jar.
2. Cover one bone with vinegar and the other with tap water.
3. Put the lids on the jars.

What to look for:
 
After about two days, remove the bones. Try to bend the tip of each. Which one bends? Check the bones again after another two to three days. Try to bend them in the middle. Which one got softer? Try cutting them with scissors.
What happened and why:
 
Calcium - hard as it is - dissolves in an acid like vinegar. The soft, rubbery bone in the vinegar jar has lost its calcium, showing what your bones would be like without this essential nutrient.

You need calcium not only to grow strong bones, but to keep them strong. Calcium enters and leaves them everyday. That is why we continue to need to get calcium from our foods even after we have stopped growing.
3.   Family Health History
Ask your parent or guardian about who in your family has or has had problems with their bones. If someone in your family has or has had a problem with their bones, what is it called? What does or did that person do to take care of their problem?
4. * Calcium in Your Food
Foods like milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and calcium fortified orange juice contain calcium. Calcium is important for healthy bones. Children between ages 4-8 need 3-4 foods/drinks (800 milligrams) a day that contain calcium. How many times a day do you have one of the foods listed above? Plan and bring a snack to share with your troop/group using at least one of the foods listed above.
5. * Exercise and Your Bones
Certain exercises are good for your bones. Activities like walking, running, and jumping make your bones strong. What activities do you do that include walking, running, or jumping? (For example: soccer, dancing, jumping rope, tennis, or gymnastics.) How often do you do one or more of these activities? Try a new activity that includes walking, running, or jumping at home or at your troop/group meeting. Talk with your troop/group about other activities you could try to strengthen your bones.
6.   Chart Your Future
A helpful way to do things to keep your bones healthy is to use a chart. Record how many times you eat foods with calcium (For example: milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, or calcium-fortified orange juice) each day for one week. See your troop/group leader for a blank chart.
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