New Journeys and badges are rolling out this summer at Girl Scouts of Northern California, and we want you to be among the first to get the exciting details!

These awesome badges have debuted on Girl Scouts’ first digital platform for volunteers, the Volunteer Toolkit, making it more accessible than ever to unleash the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader). The Volunteer Toolkit helps parents and volunteers easily plan meetings and activities, keep track of important information, and, ultimately, make it easier to support amazing experiences for girls!

In the toolkit, most programming for girls in grades K–5 is autopopulated so troop leaders can view activity plans and necessary materials, customize meetings, and track troop finances all in one place. Plus, the instructions included throughout make subjects that might otherwise intimidate some volunteers—like STEM—accessible and understandable, so they can confidently carry out troop activities. Which means helping girls take the lead in their adventures just got a whole lot easier!

You can get the full details on the Volunteer Toolkit and, in the meantime, here’s the inside scoop on what’s available:

Outdoor Journey

Anchored by the Troop Camping badge, this new Journey will strengthen girls’ outdoor skills and ignite their interest in environmental stewardship. Girls will also complete a Take Action project.

• Available for Daisy, Brownie, and Junior troops
• Formatted as a downloadable PDF on the VTK for Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors (launching mid-August)

STEM Journeys

Designed to increase girls’ aptitude and interest in STEM topics and fields, these new Journeys will introduce girls to a wide range of skill-building opportunities in areas like robotics, programming, and citizen science. Available for Daisy through Junior, and Multi-level (K-5).

• Engineering | Think Like an Engineer: Girls learn how to think like a designer by participating in hands-on design challenges and completing a Take Action project.
• Computer Science | Think Like a Programmer: Girls learn how programmers solve problems by participating in interactive computational-thinking activities and completing a Take Action project.
• Outdoor STEM | Think Like a Citizen Scientist: Girls practice the scientific method by undertaking a citizen science project that involves making observations, collecting data, and working with scientists. Girls also complete a Take Action project.

Badges

Girls explore their interests and build skills on a variety of topics.

• Engineering | Robotics: Girls design their own robots after learning how they’re built and programmed. “Unplugged” activities allow girls to earn badges without buying kits. Available for Daisy through Junior.
• Engineering | Mechanical Engineering: Girls complete hands-on engineering activities, such as building and testing roller coasters, race cars, and gliders. Available for Daisy through Brownie.
• Girls’ Choice | Troop Camping: This year, girls from across the United States had the chance to vote for their favorite badge category and topic. And the winner? Troop Camping! Available for Daisy through Junior on the Volunteer Toolkit. 
• New Daisy Badges: Two new Daisy badges—Outdoor Art Maker and Good Neighbor—give Daisies a chance to get in on the creativity other Girl Scouts already enjoy and discover all about their school, city or town, and state! Available for Daisy.

Combined with existing STEM and outdoor programs, as well as programming in life skills and entrepreneurship, these new Journeys and badges are designed to help girls unleash their inner G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) as they achieve the five outcomes of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience: sense of self, positive values, challenge seeking, healthy relationships, and community problem solving.

What’s next?

• Check out GSUSA’s handy flyer with the inside scoop on all the new STEM and Outdoor Journeys and badges!
• If you haven’t renewed your membership for the 2018 Girl Scout year, renew today so that you can earn these awesome new awards!
• Read up on how you can help your girl find inspiration for her Higher Award projects this year.
• Share this post with a fellow troop leader and plan some fun sister troop badge workshops together!

Marissa Vessels—Marissa is a lifelong Girl Scout, Gold Awardee, and Marketing Manager at Girl Scout of Northern California. Though she’s originally from Southern California (Yay, Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council!), she moved to the East Bay to attend UC Berkeley and never looked back. One of her favorite things about Girl Scouting in the Bay Area is all the incredible hiking and camping options available to girls who love to explore the outdoors!