The Badge Archive

Guides is Girlguiding’s section, for girls aged 10 to 14. A girl can join any time after her 10th birthday. She moves up to Rangers between her 14th and 15th birthdays. The move-up age is flexible.

Guides Interest Badges

Each Interest Badge has three challenges in the Guides level.

The summaries below are The Badge Archive’s own interpretation of the badges. Links are to the Girlguiding Badge Finder page.

1. Artist (Express Myself) – Make a homemade sketchbook, draw your surroundings, and experiment with different art materials.
2. Aspirations (Know Myself) – Set personal goals, plan how to reach them, and work toward you dream.
3. Athlete (Be Well) – Find out what athletes do and learn how to motivate and challenge yourself.
4. Backwoods Cooking (Have Adventures) – Learn to cook meals without an indoor kitchen.
5. Be Prepared (Take Action) –Learn how to stay calm and ready for emergencies and other unexpected situations.
6. Biodiversity (Take Action) – Survey local plant and animal life and take steps to help nature thrive where they live.
7. Bookworm (Know Myself) – Explore different genres of books and complete a reading challenge.
8. Campaigning (Take Action) – Learn how campaigns win the attention of decision-makers and run one for a cause you care about.
9. Clean Planet (Take Action) – Take steps to protect the environment.
10. Codebreaking (Skills for My Future) – Explore secret codes and make your own.
11. Confectionery (Express Myself) – Explore the history of candy and sweets and make treats of your own.
12. Conscious Consumer (Take Action) – Learn how shopping choices affect workers and the environment and learn to spend more thoughtfully.
13. Craftivism (Take Action) – Use handmade crafts as a quiet form of activism.
14. Day Tripper (Have Adventures) – Plan and go on a day out.
15. Engineering (Skills for My Future) – Look at transport, civil and mechanical engineering and try an engineering challenge.
16. Entertainer (Express Myself) – Try acting and learn how performers show emotion. Memorize lines and bring a story to the stage.
17. Entomology (Have Adventures) –Go outdoors to observe and study insects the way scientists who research bugs do.
18. Fitness (Be Well) – Find fun ways to exercise in your local area. Then make a personal health plan and work toward a fitness goal.
19. Fixing (Skills for My Future) – Learn practical repairs around the home, like handling a blown fuse, mending clothes, or changing a tire.
20. Food Critic (Know Myself) – Cook and taste a variety of dishes.
21. Friendship (Be Well) – Think about what makes a good friend and spend time strengthening a friendship.
22. Geocaching (Have Adventures) – Use GPS coordinates to hunt for hidden containers.
23. Guiding History (Know Myself) – Explore the past of Guiding and try activities that earlier generations of girls enjoyed.
24. Happy Habits (Skills for My Future) – Build small daily routines that support a healthy body and mind.
25. Healthy Sleep (Be Well) – Try out different techniques for better rest and design a bedtime routine.
26. Historian (Know Myself) – Act as historians, recording personal stories for the future.
27. Human Rights (Know Myself) – Learn what human rights are, why everyone has them, and how they keep society fair.
28. Interior Designer (Skills for My Future) – Plan the look of a room and pick up skills that professional interior designers use.
29. Investigating (Skills for My Future) – Learn techniques detectives and reporters use to gather evidence and uncover the truth.
30. Journalling (Be Well) – Keep a journal to record ideas, dreams and daily events and to reflect on their feelings.
31. Media Critic (Express Myself) – Examine articles, TV and/or films to spot hidden messages and tell fact apart from opinion.
32. Meditation (Be Well) – Try meditation as a way to unwind, ease stress, and improve focus during busy days.
33. Mixology (Be Well) – Invent alcohol-free drink from juices and/or herbs.
34. Music (Express Myself) – Try being a recording artist, mixing rhythms from different objects and composing original tracks.
35. My Views (Take Action) – Hear differing opinions, then practice sharing your own views on causes that matter to you.
36. Natural Remedies (Be Well) – Make homemade skincare and wellness products.
37. Navigator (Have Adventures) – Pretend to be a tourist in your own area, learning how to navigate and find new places.
38. Overnight (Have Adventures) – Learn what you need for a sleepover or camp night, then spend a night away.
39. Personal Best (Know Myself) – Pick a favorite hobby and practice to beat your own previous record.
40. Personal Brand (Know Myself) – Guides think about how their clothes, words, and interests add up to an identity, and what that image communicates.
41. Photography (Express Myself) – Learn camera basics like focusing and composing a shot.
42. Pioneering (Have Adventures) – Practice knots and lashing.
43. Saver (Skills for My Future) – Learn to budget and save so your money goes further.
44. Stitcher (Express Myself) – Look at how sewing has been used through history, and make your own project.
45. Thrift (Take Action) – Shop secondhand and learn about sustainability.
46. Upcycling (Skills for My Future) – Rescue items headed for the trash and creatively turn them into something new and useful.
47. Vlogging (Express Myself) – Get on camera and make your own video blog about a topics you love.
48. Whittling (Have Adventures) – Learn to safely carve objects by shaving small cuts from wood.

Other Badges and Awards

• Skills Builders: Guides can go up to stage 5 of each of the 12 skills builders. They are not allowed to do stage 6.
• Unit Meeting Activities (UMAs): Activities that can only be done as a unit, not on an individual basis and range from 10 minutes to 40 minutes long.
• Theme Awards: There are 6 Theme Awards, one for each theme. For each one, a Guide needs 1 Interest Badge plus 1 Skills Builder stage from that theme, along with 4 hours of that theme’s UMAs.
• Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards: 2 Theme Awards for Bronze, 4 Theme Awards for Silver, or all 6 Theme Awards, with a final challenge for Gold.
• Adventure Badges: Guides have their own set covering: Height, Land, Snow, Sport, Water
• Guide Eco Award: Learn about carbon footprints, pick an environment and brainstorm 3 actions to help it, share the action ideas with others, and celebrate.
• Guide Camp Permit: Do 7 challenges to be prepared to take 4-8 Guides on an overnight experience.
• Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s: Minimum of 6 months spent doing 13 weeks each of Volunteering, Physical, and Skills work. A two day, one night Expedition is also required.
• Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s: Minimum of 12 months spent doing 26 weeks of Volunteering, with 26 weeks for one and 13 weeks of the other for Physical and Skills work. A three day, two night Expedition is also required. A previously earned Bronze could lower the minimum time to 6 months.

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For More Fun Ideas and Plans

Join the Girl Scout Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Leader Help Facebook Group
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Join the Girl Scout Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Leader Help Facebook Group
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See other Recommended Facebook Groups for some Scouting Organizations
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• Find out how you can support The Badge Archive!
• Go back to the Girlguiding UK page.