The Badge Archive

Update! Sept. 25, 2025

We know many of you were excited for the 25 Badges for $25 printable book we hoped to release this fall. So were we.

The original plan was to create a low-cost, high-impact resource with 25 badge-aligned activities scouts could do at home. But as we got deeper into development, we hit a legal snag: GSUSA’s badge requirements are copyrighted, and we can’t publish a book that directly references or recreates them without risking infringement.

Even using our own original content, if the book is designed only for GSUSA scouts, we’re treading a line GSUSA has historically protected with cease and desist orders. We don’t have the funds to hire a lawyer or the energy to fight that battle. Frankly, we’d rather spend our time creating resources than navigating legal gray areas.

So we’re reimagining the project.

The new vision is a multi-organization scouting activity book. This is one that supports GSUSA, Scouting America, and possibly American Heritage Girls and Trail Life USA if we can ever get our hands on their official requirement books. (Not to publish, but to figure out which of our activities meet which requirements they have.)

It’ll feature flexible activities that align with multiple badge systems, without copying any one organization’s materials. That means more work, more research, and more time.

It’s still coming. Just not this fall.

This book is the one project we feel comfortable charging for. It will be original, inclusive, and built to support scouts across scouting communities. But for now, it’s on hold while we focus on immediate needs and Ms. Tia’s transition back to part-time work.

If you’d like to help us get there faster, donations through our website go directly to Ms. Tia and help keep The Badge Archive alive and growing. We’re so grateful for your support, your encouragement, and your belief in this mission. Feel free to Donate on PayPal to help us keep The Badge Archive a free resource to all.

We asked for your input to decide if this project should continue and be made available for purchase on Amazon, with a projected print date of May 2025.

Your response? Overwhelmingly positive! Not only did you confirm it’s worth the effort, but we also received numerous requests for a LEADER version. This new addition will include easy-to-copy and print meeting plans, tailored for Daisy, Brownie, Junior, and Cadette levels.

New Timeline

This expanded project means a slight delay. We’re now projected to launch in September 2025—right after the new 2025 badges are announced by GSUSA in August. Our focus is on creating comprehensive Brownie and Junior level books, including the ‘At Home’ and ‘Leader Help’ editions, each packed with at least 25 badges!

The Leader version requires a LOT more pages to provide easy-to-print, ready-to-use plans. For 25 badges, the booklet is projected to reach nearly 400 pages. We’re exploring innovative designs that incorporate QR codes for accessing printable PDF files, reducing the need for traditional copying—but this feature is still in development. While the final length of the booklet is yet to be determined, our goal is to keep the cost at $40 for 25 badges. This resource will offer leaders a wide variety of activities to cover all two years of any troop at that level.

Stay tuned for more updates—we can’t wait to share these with you!

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The list for the badges included in the Leader version will differ and is still being worked on. The goal is to have the 25 popular badges leaders want to do in a group setting, with different activities than what would be included in the At Home version.

We may alter this list depending on what we include in the Leader version. In the current At Home 25 for 25 booklet, completing all the pages would allow a scout to earn:

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