Have you heard about our new badges? In July of 2018 Girl Scouts of the USA introduced new badges and new Journeys to help our girls build new skills, expand their horizons, and grow into confident leaders. Pretty nifty, right?

With topics like cybersecurity, environmental advocacy, mechanical engineering, robotics, computer science, space exploration, and college prep there’s sure to be something (or several somethings!) to pique your Girl Scout’s interest. So what are the the new badges and Journeys for each age level and where can you find them? Check out below for a quick overview from Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA):

Badges

College Knowledge – From test prep to financial aid, Ambassadors walk through all the steps of the college admission process and get ready to attend the school of their choice.

Cybersecurity – Three badges per level for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors. Girls learn how computers and the internet work and apply the concepts of safety and protection to the technology they use every day. These badges were developed in partnership with the Cyber Innovation Center.

Environmental Stewardship – One badge per level for all levels except Juniors. The Junior environmental stewardship badge Eco Camper was released already in the 2017–2018 troop year.

• Eco Learner: Daisies learn three new ways to protect the environment when they go outdoors.
• Eco Friend: Brownies treat outdoor spaces with kindness and teach others how they can, too.
• Eco Trekker: Cadettes learn the skills for minimizing impact on the environment while planning and taking an outdoor trek.
• Eco Explorer: Seniors research different environmental issues and take at least one trip to see how an area is affected.
• Eco Advocate: Ambassadors advocate for environmental issues concerning nature.

Mechanical Engineering – Three badges per level for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors. Girls complete hands-on engineering activities as they use the Design Thinking Process and learn about the science behind their designs.

• Design Challenge badges for Daisies: Board Game, Roller Coaster, and Model Car
• Design Challenge badges for Brownies: Leap Bot, Fling Flyer, and Race Car
• Design Challenge badges for Juniors: Paddle Boat, Crane, and Balloon Car were developed in partnership with WGBH/Design Squad.

Robotics – Three badges per level for Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors. Girls design and showcase their own robots after learning how they’re built and programmed. “Unplugged” activities allow girls to earn badges without buying kits, but troops can use kits to supplement the badge experience if they’re available. Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Robotics badges were released during the 2017-2018 troop year.

Space Science – One badge per level for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors.

• Space Science Explorer: Like real space scientists, Daisies explore and observe the Sun, Moon, and stars while looking at the sky and talking about what they see.
• Space Science Adventurer: Brownies investigate the complexities of the sky and learn to see things in new ways.
• Space Science Investigator: Juniors venture through the Solar System and beyond, seeing that space is even bigger than they may have imagined.

Journeys

Think Like a Programmer – Cadettes, Seniors, Ambassadors, and girls in Multi-level troops (grades 6–12) can now participate in interactive computational-thinking activities to learn how programmers solve problems. At each level, girls explore how computers work, learn about algorithms, and create user-centered designs. They learn how to see needs in the world and come up with solutions before they plan and create their Take Action projects. This Journey was developed in partnership with Code.org.

Think Like an Engineer – Cadettes, Seniors, Ambassadors, and girls in Multi-level troops (grades 6–12) learn how to think like an engineer by participating in hands-on design challenges and completing a Take Action project. At each level, girls spot problems and come up with solutions using the Design Thinking Process before creating a sustainable Take Action project for their community. This Journey was developed in partnership with Museum of Science, Boston & WGBH/Design Squad.

Why don’t older girls have a Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey like the one released for younger girls last year? Girl Scouts of the USA knows this topic is of great interest to older girls and they are actively pursuing ways to develop this program for them!

So where can you find the new badge and Journey requirements?

The new badge requirements can be found several places! You can purchase badge booklets from our council shop and add them to your Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting binder. Troop leaders can access the requirements via the Volunteer Toolkit (under the My GS tab at gswo.org). You can also reach out to council staff for PDFs of these files starting in August of 2018.

The new Journey requirements are available via the Volunteer Toolkit (under the My GS tab at gswo.org). GSUSA does not plan to create printed leader guides for the new Journeys that were released in July 2017 or for new Journeys released in 2018.

So what do you think of our new badges and Journeys? Awesome, right?! We’re so excited that Girl Scouts have more opportunities to showcase their inner Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, and Leader (G.I.R.L.) with these new badges and Journeys.