By Karen Rice • krice@nwadg.com
Some Girl Scouts from Troop 5114 in
Fayetteville recently traveled to New York and
New Jersey on their way to brand new worlds.
They were part of a special group of 100 girls
from around the country who were chosen to
travel to Girl Scouts of the USA headquarters
in New York to check out some awesome
new badges that girls can earn in science,
technology and engineering.
Girl Scout cheyenne S. called the trip to
the east coast "a thing for dreams, especially
for someone like myself, who had never seen
anything bigger than Little rock."
On the trip, the girls explored Times Square,
central Park and the empire State building.
They also explored new worlds in science,
technology, computers and engineering.
Just ask Karen S., who was one of the Girl
Scouts who traveled back east to test out the
new badge programs.
"The badges were fun because they were
about things that are happening in our everyday
life," Karen said. "We could relate to them."
Her troopmate cheyenne S. agreed. "One of
the most fun things about these new badges
was how much we got to create and use our
heads to solve the problems presented."
The girls took on real-world
challenges, found solutions and
had a lot of fun along the way. So
if you think Girl Scouts is just about
cookies and campfires, think again.
The new badges help girls accomplish
some amazing things: Things like
building robots. Or investigating
cybercrime. exploring space travel. Or
learning to code.
One of Karen's favorite activities at the
badge workshop was making a prosthetic
elephant leg out of everyday items.
"One of the main things I learned in this
experience was how much STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) affects
different facets of the workplace, and how
many different types of engineers there are
for different jobs," cheyenne said.
Here are some of the badges and what
they're about:
• robotics badges teach girls how to
program, design and showcase robots.
• cybersecurity badges help girls learn
to be safe online and learn how to spot
cybercrime.
• space science lets girls channel their
inner NASA scientist.
• mechanical engineering teaches
girls about machines, vehicles, energy and jet
propulsion.
• And although Girl Scouts are already big
on the outdoors, the new environmental
stewardship badge helps them stand up and
speak out for the natural world.
The new badges are for girls in all Girl Scout
levels, ages 5-18. They are just some of the
ways girls are stepping up, aiming
high, and reaching new goals in Girl
Scouts.
As cheyenne said, "Girl Scouts
has always provided ways to go
and do things with girls that we
would otherwise be unable to do,
and I believe I speak for my troop
when I say that we will always be
grateful for that."
Girl scouts take off for
exciting new adventures
> environmental
Stewardship
> robotics
> Cybersecurity
> Space Science
> Mechanical
engineering
Badges,
badges,
badges
what are you waiting for? for more information about
the new badge programs, or to find a Girl scout troop,
visit www.girlscoutsdiamonds.org or call (800) 632-6894.
Off icialKidsMag.com • december 2018 • 9
