I made an interesting discovery this morning while checking the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum‘s events calendar: members of the Girl Scouts can go to the museum to earn their badges for Automotive Design.
The Girls Scouts website shows there are six grade level-based tiers within the organization: Daisy (K-1), Brownie (2-3), Junior (4-5), Cadette (6-8), Senior (9-10), and Ambassador (11-12). All of them have a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) section on their Badge & Award Charts, but only the first three have a STEM category for Automotive Engineering. That umbrella covers badges for Automotive Engineering, Automotive Manufacturing, and Automotive Design.
Requirements for the third one on that list get increasingly complex as girls transition from Daisy to Junior, which has five steps:
- Explore mobility across time
- Conduct automotive market research
- Create your vehicle’s design criteria
- Sketch a vehicle to meet your criteria
- Sculpt and share your vehicle
On Saturday, November 22, Daisy, Brownie, and Junior scouts can add the Automotive Design badge to their vests by attending the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s Mechanical Engineering: Car Design workshop. In the beautiful art deco building, which was once an Auburn showroom, they’ll “discover the place where some of the world’s most elegant and groundbreaking cars came to life” and “explore the history and innovation that shaped the automotive industry.” Prices are $18 for Girl Scouts and $3 for each adult chaperone. The registration fee also covers access to the museum as a whole, which will provide Girl Scouts in attendance even more of an automotive education.
If you’re wondering, Scouting America has its own car-themed Merit Badge for Automotive Maintenance, which goes over everything from basic fluids and dashboard lights to connecting jumper cables and properly disposing of used coolant.
It’s nice to know that these programs exist for young girls and boys, and that venues such as the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum support them. Not only do the badge requirements teach children important skills, but they also engage kids with classic vehicles, potentially creating part of the next generation of car enthusiasts. The more I read about Scouting America, the more I want to involve my little guy Hayden once he’s old enough.
