Retired Brownie Try-It Badges: A Complete List

Unless you’re really old experienced like I am, you may not remember a time when Brownies did not earn badges. But it’s true.

The first comprehensive badge program for Brownies was introduced in 1986 and was called Try-Its.

Just as the name suggests, they were geared towards having Brownies just “try it.” There was really no expectation of mastering a skill as in the badges for the older levels.

So in a way, they were our first participation awards!

A Brief History

The first set of Try-Its released in 1986 numbered only 15 in total. Girl Scouts issued three for each of the five worlds:

• World of Well-Being
• World of People
• World of Today and Tomorrow
• World of Art
• and World of Outdoors.

You could quickly tell which world each Try-It belonged to based on the color of its border.

As you can imagine, Brownies were thrilled to earn badges just like their older Girl Scout sisters. Additional try-its were introduced over the next several years until there were a total of 57 available.

Try-Its were eliminated retired in 2011 when Girl Scouts overhauled their badge programs for all levels.

However, as they say, “Once a badge, always a badge,” so your Brownies can still earn these Try-Its today and wear them proudly on their uniform.

Earning Try-Its Today

Try-its come with six proposed activities, of which Brownies must complete four of them. This means that generally, most troops should be able to earn a Try-It even if your meeting time is only an hour.

Requirements can be found in the Try-Its for Brownie Girl Scouts handbook, sometimes on Amazon or online used book stores.

Now where to find the actual badges? You may not be able to purchase Brownie Try-Its in your local council store, but they are still available in Facebook groups, on eBay, or through online collectors.

And from a financial perspective, these are most likely cheaper than current badges. So, if your troop is just starting out or low on funds, Try-its may be a great option to move your troop forward.

I’ve put a list of the Brownie Try-Its in this table. If the Try-It is highlighted, you can follow the link to the plans that I used with my troop.

List of Brownie Try-Its