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28 New Badges: 28 New Adventures
28 New Badges to Discover New Adventures
We are excited to announce 28 new badges focused on entrepreneurship, math in nature, and digital leadership that embolden girls to navigate a changing society and build the futures they want for themselves and the world. Amid seismic shifts in technology and culture brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Girl Scouts can now earn new badges—in addition to the hundreds of existing badges— that address girls’ evolving interests in ways that resonate with them. The badges also address some of parents’ top concerns for their children as they handle the increasingly digital world, helping girls develop an entrepreneurial mindset toward technology, learn STEM skills while exploring nature, and build confidence and safe practices online.
Math in Nature (grades K–5)
Despite increased remote learning, not all learning happens indoors. This badge gets girls outdoors to explore and conserve the natural world as they learn math concepts. Activities include discovering shapes and patterns in natural objects, learning about symmetry and tiling of a flat surface, and mastering time and measurement theories. Girl Scouts then use this background to design nectar feeders, trail maps, and other outdoor tools and essentials. Girls often receive the message that STEM isn’t for them, but they’re especially interested in STEM concepts when they’re linked to things that girls enjoy, such as outdoor time. Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.
Cookie Business (grades K–12)
With businesses shifting their models and relying even more on technology, girls learn to think beyond the storefront. The new Cookie Business badges help girls think like entrepreneurs as they run their own cookie businesses and incorporate online sales via the Smart Cookies platform. The badges progress from goal setting and effective sales-pitching in person and online to using market research, creating business plans, and implementing digital marketing campaigns. In light of the consumer trend to shop more online, including on the Smart Cookies platform, girls now have even more opportunities to experience digital sales and marketing.
Digital well-being is not just a buzzword—it’s here to stay. Girl Scouts explore what a leader is, both online and in their everyday lives. They learn how to be online in a responsible and safe way, and dive into topics like managing your well-being online, how to balance your time on and offline, and how to deal with issues like misinformation, clickbait, and biases in advertising. Girl Scouts discover how people use technology to connect and lead, then use those skills to create impact and become digital activists themselves. While internet safety and well-being are among parents’ top concerns since the pandemic, many girls are already digital leaders who use technology to connect with others on social issues and causes they care about. These forward-thinking badges are designed to support and motivate girls as they navigate the digital world. Sponsored by Instagram.
You spoke, and Girl Scouts listened. This year, volunteers, girls, and families shared their thoughts on the process for earning Girl Scout badges—and this year there are a few important changes that you’ll see in the new badges that just rolled out.
• New badge booklets include a volunteer guide to help troop leaders plan and share badges with the troop. • Badge booklets include pages for Girl Scouts to print and use during activities. • The enhanced Volunteer Toolkit now includes full badge overviews, new communication tools, and activities that are easier to follow and lead.
It’s OK to Not Be OK
So many of us were raised with these well-meaning sentiments. Often framed as messages of inspiration and resilience, they overlook the fact that sometimes the strongest and most courageous thing you can do in certain situations is step away and take care of yourself. It’s OK not to be OK.
Often, there is no “one shot” to achieve a goal. Some moments are more critical than others, but girls have countless opportunities to shine. Knowing when to walk away and how to set boundaries when something isn’t right for for them, whether in the moment or long-term, is a necessary skill that will help girls face the myriad of important moments they are sure to face throughout life. Talk with your girls about the pressures they are facing in life, and pay attention if they seem overly tired, agitated, or is acting out. Sure, acing that honors class or landing the lead in the school play are things to be proud of—but they should never come at the cost of her health and wellness. Sometimes, especially in today’s world, just putting one foot in front of the other and getting through the day is a success in itself.
Nobody can, or needs to be, “on” all the time.
Even tennis champion Naomi Osaka decided to take a break and pay fines (instead of talking to the press during the French Open this year), to preserve her mental health and protect her game on the court—which was her task at hand. Your girls don’t have to be famous to be feeling the pressures of our “all-access” society. Keeping up appearances on social media has become a huge source of stress in young people’s lives—especially teen girls—and the pressure to look, act, and seem “perfect” can be overwhelming. Talk with your girls about the importance of taking time to feel and process their authentic feelings rather than always putting on a happy face. As humans, dealing with frustrations, disappointments, sadness, and anger is simply part of life, and working through those emotions, rather than denying them, helps us grow and become stronger people.
It’s OK to say “no.”
In an interview with Elle magazine, Beyoncé opened up about the pressure to do it all. Admitting that she used to be someone who would simply tough it out in difficult situations and focus on taking care of everyone else before herself—she said she’s learned better. “There are things in my career that I did because I didn’t understand that I could say no,” she said. “We all have more power than we realize.”
If your girls are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, sit down with them and take a look at everything that’s on their plates. They may be juggling more than they can handle—and even taking on things that don’t make them happy—to avoid disappointing people in their life. If possible, help them identify one or two things that they can bow out of or at least put on pause. Stepping away from even just one obligation can give them valuable time to just breathe and relax, which will help them keep going strong in the long run. When Simone Biles withdrew from the gymnastics team competition at the Tokyo Olympics, it took courage for her—arguably the greatest gymnast of all time—to acknowledge her limits that day. And when she said she “truly [feels] like [she has] the weight of the world on [her] shoulders at times,” she was setting a positive example and doing the responsible thing by taking care of herself to preserve her mental health.
