The Badge Archive

• Badges
• Handbooks
• 1980 Worlds to Explore
• 2000 Revision

Badges

Girl Scouts USA completely changed their badge program between 1980 and 1987. It replaced the original Proficiency Badges.

Because there were only 4 levels of types of Badges, they did not call all the badges, “badges”.

• If you were a Daisy, you earned Petals.
• If you were a Brownie, you earned Try-Its.
• If you were a Junior, you earned Badges.
• If you were an older Girl Scout, you earned IPs (Interest Projects).

Two Sets – Depends on Border Color

Handbooks

Worlds to Explore

It started in 1977 with the Worlds to Explore handbooks. The 5 “Worlds to Explore” program they released in 1977 was used to create an equal number of new badges for each of the 5 worlds. Badges could be identified on which “World” it belonged to by the color of the border. The Girl Scout Badges and Signs book kept a record of all badge requirements. In 1980, a new Girl Scout Badges and Signs book was released.

The Badges and Signs book in 1990 and the Badges and Signs book in 1994 had a few revisions in the requirements, but the badges themselves did not change even when requirements or name changes occurred. The Junior Girl Scout Handbook in 1986 and Junior Girl Scout Handbook of 1994 also held a few badge requirements at the back of the book. The 1992 Junior Girl Scout Activity Book only gave suggestions on which badges to earn based on what topic you wanted to work on.

In 1986 they released Brownie Try-Its, the first official badges Brownies could earn since the start of the Brownie Program in 1926. These also kept to the “Worlds to Explore” program with different colored borders for each world. Only a handful were released in the new Brownie Girl Scout Handbook of 1986, but many more were released in More Brownie Girl Scout Try-Its in 1989. A new Brownie Girl Scout Handbook was released in 1993, but no revised version of the Try-Its.

You Make a Difference in 1980 was the Cadette and Senior Handbook. It contained Challenge pins and Interest Projects. A new release, with the Cadette and Senior Girl Scout Handbook in 1987 and Cadette and Senior Girl Scout Interest Projects in 1987 released more Interest Projects.

We got a new 1995 Cadette Girl Scout Handbook with no Interest Projects as they instead released the Studio 2B program and 1995 The Guide for Cadette and Senior Girl Scout Leaders was released. A revision made for the Interest Projects for Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts was made in 1997 removing the Worlds to Explore and releasing some new Interest Projects. Seniors received A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts in 1997.

The Daisy Program was started in 1984 with Daisy Girl Scouts Leader Guide, but did not have any badges. The Guide for Daisy Girl Scout Leaders in 1993 also had no badges. They did have a Who is a Daisy Girl Scout? book for the girls with and Activity Scrapbook.

2000 Revision

The 1980 program went through one major revision during the 3 decades it was used. GSUSA phased out the Worlds to Explore program.

Daisies got a new Daisy Girl Scout Activity Book and the year 2000 Guide For Daisy Girl Scout Leaders. It introduced the new Petal patches for that level – the first time Daisies ever got patches of their own. However, there were no requirements, just a chart of the Petals and what each line of the Law the colors represented in the Activity Book.

Brownie badges now only had a brown border and got a new 2000 Brownie Girl Scout Handbook and a 2000 Try-Its For Brownie Girl Scouts book with their own Guide for Brownie Girl Scout Leaders.

Junior badges now only had a green border and got a new 2001 Junior Handbook and 2001 Junior Badgebook.

Cadettes and Seniors received an update to their Interest Projects, and the title was changed to Interest Projects for girls 11-17 in 2004. This made way for the Ambassador level to be introduced in 2008, but they were still kept to the Interest Project badges and no new books were released at that time.

2011 GSUSA Program

This program stayed in place until the 2011 Program was started. The 2011 GSUSA Program did another complete redesign of all badges except the Daisy Petals and Leaves, and gave the Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors their own set of badges.

–

For More Fun Ideas and Plans

for Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Scouts

This is a supportive Facebook community for Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Girl Scout leaders. Whether you’re seeking advice, fresh ideas, or meeting plans, you’re in the right place! Let’s inspire each other, share our experiences, and make every troop meeting a memorable adventure.

for Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Scouts

This is a supportive community for Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Girl Scout leaders. This group offers solutions to keep older scouts engaged in scouting amidst their busy lives. Share strategies, tackle challenges, and exchange ideas for fun, meaningful activities that resonate with teens and build lasting connections.

Find out how you can support The Badge Archive!

–

• Return to the Daisy Badge List.
• Return to the Brownie Badge List.
• Return to the Junior Badge List.
• Return to the Cadette Badge List.
• Return to the Senior Badge List.
• Return to the Ambassador Badge List.

–