How much do you know about the Brownie Try-It?

Happy 30th Birthday!

The fall 1986 Girl Scout catalog contained a major surprise: new badges … for Brownies! That means the Try-It has been around for 30 years.

The “Try-It” name reflected the non-competitive emphasis on fun. Brownies did not have to become proficient in a skill, they just had to Try It. Girls had to complete four of six requirements to earn the recognition.

first-try-its — Try-Its debuted in the 1986 Girl Scout catalog.

Bicentennial Byproduct

Try-Its satisfied a growing demand for more Brownie program content, especially after the program expanded from two years (2nd and 3rd grades) to three (1st grade) in 1973.

Many councils issued special badge programs to celebrate the American Bicentennial in 1976. Brownies could earn these, leading many to ask why they didn’t have badges of their own. Some councils responded with their own patch programs. Today these are known as “Pre-Try-Its.”

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Official Patches and Wedges

Before Try-Its, GSUSA introduced the Brownie Bs program in 1977. The program encouraged troops to create well-rounded programs that reflected the Brownie Bs:

Be a Discoverer
Be a Ready Helper
Be a Friend-maker

Upon completing a year in the program, Brownies received a triangular patch to wear on the front of their sashes. Each wedge represented one year: Yellow (1st year), Red (2nd), and Blue (3rd). (The bridge and Junior Aide bar were Junior recognitions, but you almost always see them grouped together.)

GSUSA also issued Brownie Bs fun patches that were worn on the back of the sash. They came in several shapes and colors.

Brownie Fun Patches from 1978. They usually weren’t this dirty!

Try-Its Influenced the Uniform

try-it-clothing — Brownie fun wear with a Try-It design became available in 1999.

Now that Brownies could earn recognitions, they needed a place to display them. The sash was introduced in 1977 and the vest in 1991. Mothers everywhere rejoiced when iron-on Try-Its were introduced in 2004.

Most Popular

The original Try-Its had borders that matched the Worlds to Explore program: Arts, Out-of-Doors, People, Today and Tomorrow, and Well-Being. The program was wildly popular and members immediately asked for more options. A blank “Our Own Council’s” version was introduced in 1988, followed by 20 new Try-Its in 1989, six in 1993, and five in 1997.

The most popular early Try-Its were:

(1) Girl Scout Ways, (2) Play, (3) Food Fun, (4) Music, and (5) Dance.

TI_Worlds — The top five Try-Its of the Worlds to Explore era.

TI_2000 — Top Brownie Try-Its, 1999-2004.

The Worlds to Explore program was phased out, and by 1999 all Try-Its had brown borders. The 2001 Brownie handbook included 57 Try-Its, many updated versions of existing ones. The most popular were:

(1) Cookies Count, (2) Girl Scout Ways, (3) Manners, (4) Art to Wear, and (5) Caring and Sharing.

Of course, my personal favorites are the various Council’s Own Try-Its.

Yes, It’s Hyphenated

It’s Try-It, not Try It. (I’m an editor, I care about such things!)

Try-Its Inspired Today’s Girl Scout Way Series

The first group of Try-Its included “Girl Scout Ways.” Now each level (except Daisies) has their own version of this basic badge.

GSWay_Amb — Ambassador Girl Scout Way badge

Now Officially “Badges”

The Discover, Connect, Take Action program included a new set of Brownie recognitions in 2012, and the Try-It name was dropped. Now Brownies earn “badges,” but the old name is still frequently used.

Learn more by visiting the exhibit at the Nation’s Capital main office, 4301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC.

When is a badge not a badge? When it’s a Try-It, an IP, IPA, or IPP.

For decades, a Girl Scout badge was just a badge, but starting in 1980, GSUSA got creative…and confusing.

While Girl Scouts have always earned badges, from 1980 to 2011 the term “badge” was reserved for just the Junior program.

With the roll-out of the Worlds to Explore program in 1980, Cadettes and Seniors now earned rectangular Interest Project Patches (IPPs). The 1979 Let’s Make It Happen handbook had already given a preview of the IP program with 22 available. The 1983 Supplement to Let’s Make it Happen added 10 more IPs, followed by another 29 in the 1987 book, Cadette and Senior Interest Projects.

Worlds to Explore divided activities into five “worlds.” Badges and Interest Projects had colored borders indicating to which world they belonged: Purple: Arts, Yellow: Out of Doors, Blue: People, Orange: Today and Tomorrow; Red: Well-Being

Dabbler Interest Projects: (l-r) Arts, Out-of-Doors, People, Today and Tomorrow, Well-Being

Food Raiser (1980-1991), Communication Arts (1980-1991), Photography (1990-2001), and Food, Fibers, and Farming (1990-2001).

Seventy-six Junior badges in the Worlds format were introduced in the 1980 book, Girl Scout Badges and Signs. Aside from the much more colorful images and edges, many of the designs were familiar, little changed from the Junior badges introduced in 1963. Some Junior badges had tan backgrounds; these were more “advanced” and could be earned by younger Cadettes. Nine group-oriented badges were included in the 1986 Junior Girl Scout Handbook; known as “handbook badges,” these had dark blue borders and white backgrounds.

Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors had the option to earn a “Dabbler” badge in each world that sampled activities from several awards in that category. These Dabbler badges/IPs featured the logo of each world. A Brownie preparing to bridge to Juniors could also work toward a Dabbler badge.

Try-Its, the first national program for Brownies, were introduced in 1986. Each Try-It had six activities; girls had to “try” at least four of them to earn the recognition. The program was an immediate hit and quickly grew beyond the original 15. The first Try-Its were part of the Worlds to Explore era and had colored borders, but they did not have Dabblers.

Space Explorer (1989-1999 orange; 1999-2011 brown) and Girl Scout Ways (1986-1998 blue; 1999-2011 brown).

As the Worlds to Explore program phased out in the late 1990s, IPs became formally Interest Project Awards (IPAs) but the old abbreviation stuck. IPs switched to royal blue borders in the 1997 Interest Projects for Girls 11-17. Some old IPs were given new names or revised designs at the time, while 38 new IPs were added and the Dabblers dropped.

Juniors badges were also updated as the Worlds came to an end (that sounds rather dire, doesn’t it?). As inventory dwindled, badges were produced with dark green borders. Sometimes you can find Junior Dabbler badges with green borders:

"Transition" Junior Dabbler badges. — “Transition” Junior Dabbler badges.

Try-Its switched to brown borders in 1999.

In a moment of apparent insanity, GSUSA introduced a whole new program for Cadettes and Seniors in 2002. With Studio 2B, badges were out and girls earned charms for bracelets. That whole story will have to wait for another post.

With the new Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) format introduced in 2011, the “Interest Project” name was retired in favor of “badges.” New badge shapes were introduced for Cadettes (diamonds), Seniors (rectangles), and Ambassadors (clipped squares.) The “Try-It” name was also retired. Brownies still earned triangle-shaped recognitions, but now they are known as “badges.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Tag: Girl Scout Try Its

Brownie Badges: We Tried It, Girls Loved It!