"Be prepared," Indeed!

Brownie Space Science Adventurer

Cybersecurity. Space exploration. Robotics. Mechanical engineering. Environmental advocacy. These are just a few of the STEM-related areas covered by 30 new Girl Scout badges that reflect freshly-implemented programs for girls 5-18.

Girls in kindergarten through fifth grade, for example, through a collaboration with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate led by the SETI Institute, now have a window into the wonderful worlds of outer space and astronomy. Fourth and fifth grade girls can earn mechanical engineering badges through hands-on work as they design paddle boats, cranes, and balloon-powered cars, learning about jet propulsion, buoyancy, and potential and kinetic energy in the process. New programming for girls in grades 6-12 includes learning to design, program, and showcase robots, while the Raytheon-funded “Think Like a Programmer” track offers foundational lessons in computational thinking, and “Think Like an Engineer” focuses on how engineers solve problems. On a more nature-and-conservation-focused level, the new Environmental Stewardship badge series – funded by the Elliott Wildlife Values Project – prepares participants to be environmental advocates.

Junior Balloon Car Design

Girl Scout badges, displayed on a tunic, sash, or vest depending on the age-related uniform, represent the time, commitment and effort on the part of scouts to find their place in the world – the motto, “Be prepared,” says it all – and to grow into active, successful leaders and community members.

“As a former Girl Scout and then the mother of Girl Scouts and troop leader, I can personally speak to the strengths of the organization and the way it continually develops its STEM activities,” says SPIE President Maryellen Giger. “As one of our long-standing institutions that robustly empowers young girls, it’s terrific to watch the way it embraces new innovations, discoveries, and trends, to ensure that Girl Scouts are exposed to relevant, real-world issues and areas.”

                                            

                                             Senior Showcasing Robots 
                                        Badge

Senior Eco-Explorer 
Badge

The Girl Scout Movement was established by Juliette Gordon Low on March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, envisioning “an organization that would prepare girls to meet their world with courage, confidence, and character,” according to the Girl Scout website.