Girl Scouts adding new badges… @girlscouts

Pt 101771

Girl Scouts adding new badges… @ NPR.

For the first time in a quarter-century, they’ve completely overhauled the system of badges that Scouts can earn.

There are badges that haven’t changed much — in a press release, the organization calls the Cook, Athlete and Naturalist badges “as relevant today as they were in 1912.” But Digital Movie Maker? Website Designer? Geocacher? Locavore? Yes, the times they are a-changing. (Try not to panic at the thought that a Brownie — she’ll be somewhere between 6 and 9 years old — can earn a badge called “Computer Expert.”)

There’s also a badge within the Innovation series called Product Designer, which Niehaus calls “the intersection of design and business.” Girls working on that badge might try to improve the functionality of backpack straps or improve the design of a cell-phone case.

Girl Scouts keeping track of the bottom line will also have the opportunity to earn Financial Literacy badges in which, as a girl works her way up from Daisy to Ambassador, she can earn badges like Money Manager, Budgeting, Financing My Future, and Good Credit. And yes, there are plenty of cookie-related badges: Meet My Customers, Business Plan, and Customer Loyalty, among others.

And here’s a quote from the Yahoo story

Girl Scouts of the USA spokeswoman Alisha Niehaus explained in an interview that the Girl Scouts themselves helped to develop the new badges, which provide an even broader experience for the young women involved in the group. Having such a wide variety of activities encourages girls to try new things and learn skills that will enrich their lives.

“You can make your Girl Scouting experience what you want it to be,” she says. Maybe one of today’s Girl Scouts will grow up to be the next Ada Lovelace.

Back in April of 2011 we had this post “@girlscouts where is your robotics merit badge?”


Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards

Join Adafruit on Mastodon

Adafruit is on Mastodon, join in! adafruit.com/mastodon

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 36,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


Maker Business — “Packaging” chips in the US

Wearables — Enclosures help fight body humidity in costumes

Electronics — Transformers: More than meets the eye!

Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Silicon Labs introduces CircuitPython support, and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

Adafruit IoT Monthly — Guardian Robot, Weather-wise Umbrella Stand, and more!

Microsoft MakeCode — MakeCode Thank You!

EYE on NPI — Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — #NewProds 7/19/23 Feat. Adafruit Matrix Portal S3 CircuitPython Powered Internet Display!

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !



1 Comment

  1. “(Try not to panic at the thought that a Brownie — she’ll be somewhere between 6 and 9 years old — can earn a badge called “Computer Expert.”)”

    I’m confused why NPR thinks I would be panicked about that. Sounds fantastic to me.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.