PHOTO: girlscouts.org
Girl Scouts of America was founded in 1912, and has been making new badges ever since with the help of numerous organizations. These badges award girls for certain accomplishments, usually related to survival, fitness, and good behavior.
This Tuesday, Girl Scouts of America announced the creation of 23 new badges related to science, engineering, technology, math, and the outdoors. They want to see more girls interested in science and math, and growing up to go in to STEM careers.
Girls can now earn badges through participating in activities like designing model race cards, writing code, going on environmentally conscious camping trips, and even programming robots. These new badges are intended to address “the lack of exposure many girls have to STEM,” CEO Sylvia Acevedo said.
Acevedo first became a Girl Scout herself when she was seven years old, and before becoming the CEO of Girl Scouts, she worked as an engineer, for IBM and Dell, and even for NASA’s jet propulsion lab. After that, she created a business software startup. She’s passionate about getting girls interested in science and math and encouraging them to follow related career paths.
Before these badges were introduced, girls had access to tech-related badges, but they included things like designing a website, and learning to use a computer. These new STEM badges are now available to girls in kindergarten through 12th grade.
