Uniformed Organisations

On this page you can find resources to help you achieve some of your badges!

We can also arrange a trip to the Museum with your group leader, get in touch to find out more about what we can offer and our prices.

Beavers, cubs and scouts

Photography Badge

Explore & Local Knowledge

Digital Citizen

Photography Badge: Beavers

To earn your photography badge you need to complete three tasks. You can see the tasks on the Scouts website here.

We can help you with some ideas to complete tasks two and three.

Activity: Come to the Museum and take 10 or more photographs

The Museum is full of lots of facinating and interesting objects, some of them are on open display and some of them are behind glass in display cases.

For objects that are in display cases you will need to avoid reflections on the glass spoiling your pictures, here are some tips to help you:

Turn off your flash: a flash will create a big flash in the reflection. The flash can also harm some of the more delicate objects.
Put your camera very close to the glass, this will help to limit reflections.
Some of the cases in the Museum are quite dark, you may need to choose a setting on your phone or camera that brightens the image.
Taking images close to the glass and close to the object can create dramatic effects. If you can get close to the object then you can use a macro lens or setting to pick out the details.
You may need to use a zoom to photograph objects at the back of the case.
Always check your image after you have taken it. Check for blurring, reflections and what's in the background.

Can you take a series of images that show the range of objects that are on display in the Museum? Try and take a picture of at least one object from each of these categories:

Local History
Prehistory
Romans
Saxons
Fossils and Geology
Insects, animals and birds
Ancient Egypt
Toys and Games
Ceramics
World Cultures

Activity: Use the pictures to create a poster for the Museum

Can you make a poster using your photographs that could show someone who hasn't been to the Museum how good it is? Use the following rules to help you with your design

The poster should be A4 in size
The poster must include the name of the Museum: Saffron Walden Museum
The poster must show the museums address: Museum Street, Saffron Walden CB10 1BN

Here are some examples of old Museum posters.

Which ones do you think work well and which don't? Why do you think that?

You could make your poster by hand using collage, or on a compter or tablet.

Once you have made your poster we would love to see it at the Museum. You can email it to cpratt@uttlesford.gov.uk, with permission from your parents or guardians. We might even use it in the Museum!

Photography Badge: cubs

To earn your photography badge you need to complete four tasks. You can see the tasks on the Scouts website here.

We can help you with some ideas to complete tasks two and four.

Activity: Take at least five photos of Saffron Walden Museum, its grounds and the Castle that could be used on a tourist leaflet or website.

Try to take a photograph of each of the following:

The Museum building
The Castle
The glacial boulder
A picture of one of the Museum galleries
A picture of the Museum grounds

When you are taking your photographs be aware of hazards that may be around you. Keep an eye out for cars coming up the Museum drive.

Remember that the photographs should make people want to visit the Museum and its grounds. Think carefully about how you take your photographs to show everything at its best. Try the tips below to help you.

The rule of thirds: Imagine breaking an image down into three equal sections horizontally (left-to-right) and vertically (top-to-bottom), so it’s split into different sections. If you are using a digital camera or phone there may be a setting that will show a grid over your picture to help you. The goal is to place important parts of the photo into those sections and help frame the overall image in a way that’s pleasing to the eye. Remember to keep that horizon straight too!
You can almost always come up with a better photo composition by experimenting. Take your first picture standing, but then try some different angles, you could even try laying on the ground for a low angle if it is safe to do so.
Pay attention to details. Are the clouds in an eye-pleasing spot? If not, will they look better in 15 minutes.

Activity: Create two photos of the same thing in the Museum, one in colour and one in black and white. Compare how the effects change the way the final picture looks. Here are some ideas of objects to photograph:

Wallace the Lion
The printing press in the local history gallery
The Egyptian sarcophagus
The natural history diorama

Activity: Make a short film about the Museum.

Using the video camera on your mobile phone or digital camera, make a film about the Museum. Follow the steps below to help you:

Decide on the topic of your film. You could make a film to promote the Museum to visitors, or a film about the history of the Museum, you could even do a video tour of the building or make a film about your five favourite objects.
Create a plan or a story board of the shots or scenes in your film. How and where will it start, what will happen in the middle and what will happen at the end.
Make your film. Make sure that you don't film anyone that doesn't want to be filmed. You might be even be able to edit it afterwards with apps or software, ask your parent or guardian to help you.

Explore Badge: Beavers

To earn your explore badge you need to complete four tasks. You can see the tasks on the Scouts website here.

We can help you with some ideas to complete tasks one to three.

Activity: Plan a trip to the Museum to explore its galleries and grounds. Download and print out the handout to the right then complete each section. You can then use it to tell other Beavers what you have found out.

Local Knowledge badge: Cubs

To earn your local badge you need to complete 3 tasks out of 5 activities. You can see the tasks on the Scouts website here.

Heres our ideas to help you complete some of them

Activity: Find out about a famous person who lived in or near your area.

The Museum holds records about lots of interesting people from the past, there are details in the Museum, on our local history hero's information sheets on the right and on our Snapping the Stiletto page here.

Once you have chosen your famous/interesting person complete the sheet and share what you have found with your cubs group.

Activity: Make a map of the Museum and grounds

Can you draw a map of the Museum building and/or the grounds, including the kinds of objects your will find in each gallery. If you include outside or choose to focus on the grounds, include key features like the benches, the glacial boulders display, trees and castle.

Digital Citizen
Cubs and Scouts

To earn your digital citizen you need to complete four tasks. You can see the tasks on the Scouts website here.

We can help you ways to complete activity four.

Activity: Use an online service to learn a new skill and show others what you’ve learnt.

Explore our different activity pages on this website, choose a topic to learn about and share what you have learned with your cubs group.

To learn about fossils click here

To learn about WW2 click here

To learn about geology click here

To learn about Ancient Egypt click here