This was a fun and WORTHWHILE badge for my girls. I contacted the general manager at Auto Zone and asked if he would be willing to share his knowledge of cars with the girls. He was eager and flattered by the opportunity. Dean, was an older gentleman, who has raised two girls himself and he loved the idea of introducing girls to basic car care. He gladly popped the hood of his own vehicle and explained the basics. He was engaging and asked the girls lots of questions, adding a bit of science into the mix, including concepts of friction, heat, valves, axles, pistons condensation, batteries, fluid shifts etc. He held every girls' attention for a full hour. He approached the talk from a fatherly perspective and the girls really appreciated his time, effort and knowledge. Dean discussed safety and quizzed them with scenarios. He also explained the importance of good car maintenance and how this could affect the warranty of a car. I offered him an outline of questions which he basically covered without looking at my sheet. All of this for No Cost, but I insisted he take a $10 McDonald's Gift Card.
Remember leaders don't forget to look in your community for inexpensive ways to earn your badges. There is an Auto Zone or auto parts store in nearly every town, don't be afraid to ask for help. Often times people are excited and enjoy participating. I sent a letter of appreciation to Dean's bosses and encouraged Auto Zone to offer a New Driver's Car Care class. This would be a great service to the community and a super way to advertise.
Most importantly he told the girls if they ever had a light flash on their dashboard they could come to any Auto Zone and the store could diagnosis the problem with their computer program and in most cases fix the problem for them. He advised them not to be intimidated by an auto parts store, he is there to help and just because it is a predominantly male visited store not to be afraid to visit if they ever needed help. I felt this was valuable advice since my Senior Girl Scouts will soon be attending college and on their own.
Prior to Dean' Discussion, my troop met at Mc Donald's next door to Auto Zone. We enjoyed lunch and talked about the importance of insurance and how to choose a first car. To see how much they learned and to hopefully review the wealth of information, I created an online quiz which I am happy to share with leaders.
Here is the link to pass on to your troop members: CLICK HERE
Copy and paste in an email to send to your girls
CLICK HERE to access the answers
Once they enter your email, you will receive all their responses
Notes:
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