New Girl Scout Badge

On November 5th, the Badgerland Girl Scouts unveiled a new badge for their members to strive for at the MAD (Make A Difference) 4 Science Expo in the Wisconsin Dells. This new badge, called the MAD 4 Science Badge, is unique to the Wisconsin area and encourages young girls to get involved in day-to-day science through citizen science projects.

Preview of the new badge

Citizen science is a method of collecting data as regular citizens, often in collaboration with professional scientists, to contribute to ongoing projects. Our very own Jeanette Kelly from the Citizen Science Center at Beaver Creek has been involved in the development of this badge, and was invited to the expo where it was introduced. Jeanette was sought out by the Girl Scout troop because of the opportunities they saw for Beaver Creek to be involved in helping Girl Scouts earn this badge.

Recently, a group of 25 local Girl Scouts gathered to build bluebird houses at Beaver Creek Reserve. Building these houses and learning about bluebirds is one example of a citizen science project that a Girl Scout could engage in to earn this new badge.

With its one-of-a-kind Citizen Science Center facility, Beaver Creek Reserve can allow young girls get involved in the sciences by offering them the chance to help with scientific research. So far, the only similar badge that exists is one for Girl Scouts in Ohio. This is an exciting program to watch unfold because with the related STEM badge that the Badgerland Girl Scouts have already developed, it is likely that more and more young girls will be encouraged to learn about the sciences, and pursue these fields of study.

This is a citizen science project
that could earn the MAD 4
Science Badge

Local Girl Scouts building bluebird houses

You can find more information about the badge and the Badgerland Girl Scouts at www.gsbadgerland.org/ under the Council Patches tab.