Fabienne Fleurantin/ Staff Writer
When people think of Girl Scouts, they tend to picture cute little sweethearts in uniforms selling delicious cookies in front of their local grocery store.
Well, these girls are so much more than that.
Girl Scouts have recently released 23 new STEM badges that will help young women gain skills that could be useful later on in life.
“The new Girl Scout programming builds girls’ skills and encourages their interest in STEM and environmental conservation from an early age, increasing their confidence in these areas—in an all-girl environment where they feel comfortable trying new things, taking appropriate risks, and learning from failure,” according to girlscouts.org.
Some badges include the Digital Art badge, which gives girls the chance to explore the outdoors, the Science and Technology badge, which teaches girls about science topics, and the Innovation badge, which encourages problem solving using the scientific method, as mentioned on girlscouts.org.
This is a win for girls everywhere. This encourages and gives them the opportunity to become involved and interested in fields of STEM at a young age.
These badge additions give girls a chance to learn more about what science, technology, engineering and mathematics entail, how they can engage in these activities and challenge themselves to discover how these programs work.
The STEM fields tend to be dominated by men. The fact that companies like Code.org, GoldieBlox, SciStarter, Society of Women Engineers and WGBH/Design Squad Global chose to collaborate with Girl Scouts shows that they believe in teaching girls the importance of STEM fields. This highlights the fact that such programs will benefit not only the girls, but society as well.
Girls, just as much as guys, have the ability to change the STEM industry for the better. They can create, innovate and inspire other girls who might be skeptical to go after their interest in these fields. Adding these badges will give girls the skills they need and give them the courage to pursue the field of their dreams.
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Photo taken from Flickr.
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