Girl Scouts Can Now Earn Video Game Badges

With a little help from their friends at Playstation and Google.

Before I joined the Girl Scouts as a kid, I thought it was going to be the most fun ever. I’d earn badges for selling cookies, learn how to pitch a tent and volunteer in my community. I’d be part of a sisterhood!

After about two months of weekly nature hikes and forced crafts, though, I realized—at the tender age of seven—that I would rather be home playing video games.

There was nothing wrong with the Girl Scouts organization — it just wasn’t my thing. I was more into technology, which wasn’t really viewed as a “girls’ thing” at the time. Thankfully, times have changed and being a woman in tech is not out of the ordinary.

Girls Scouts of Greater Los Angeles realized this and have partnered with Playstation to host workshops for girls interested in creating video games.

The workshops, hosted in LA, will allow girls to create and test both physical and digital prototypes. After attending the workshops, the young ladies receive a special video-game patch for their uniforms.

With 73% of young girls interested in the STEM field, the organization has also partnered with other initiatives, such as Google’s Made With Code, to expose young girls to career opportunities in sciences and technology.

Hopefully girls will seize these opportunities and begin to flourish even further in the STEM fields. ?