Girl Scouts add new badges

Girl Scouts looking to acquire more badges have five new options.

Product Designer, Digital Movie Maker, Customer Loyalty, Science of Happiness and Make Your Own badges are now available.

Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways media manager Kimberly Dunne said girls already are starting to work on them.

“A lot of it is based on what girls are telling us, what they are focused on,” she said. “We are introducing Make Your Own badge, where if we don’t have a badge they want, they can explore it on their own.”

The Product Designer badge will be awarded to girls who come up with their own ideas or inventions, while the Movie Maker badge is for girls who successfully make their own movie.

The Customer Loyalty badge mostly has to do with the annual Girl Scout cookie sale, Ms. Dunne said.

“They go out there and sell, and do their own business during the cookie program,” she said.

Ms. Dunne said the final badge, Science of Happiness, is sure to make girls think.

“It’s loosely based on psychology,” she said. “Girls work about a month on a strategy which is believed to increase happiness, such as being forgiving toward others. They would evaluate those effects on their psychological well-being.”

The change from traditional Cook, Naturalist, and Athlete badges shows the growth in both girls and the organization, Ms. Dunne said.

“It’s a way to shift focus on what girls were invested in in 1912 to today, preparing for our 100th anniversary in 2012,” she said.

Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways also is recruiting new members.

Girls interested in learning more about Girl Scouts or its programs can call the Watertown service center at 782-1890 or visit the agency’s website at www.gsnypenn.org.