When preparing for any activity with girls, start by reading the Girl Scout Safety
Activity Checkpoints for that particular activity. You can find these at
www.gswpa.org.
Each Safety Activity Checkpoint offers you information on where to do this
activity, how to include girls with disabilities, where to find both basic and
specialized gear required for the activity, how to prepare yourselves for the
activity, what specific steps to follow on the day of the activity, and so on.
In addition to reading these checkpoints yourself, you can email or print them
for co-volunteers, parents/guardians, and the girls themselves. The checkpoints
are formatted as checklists, so that you, your co-volunteers, and the girls can
check off each step that has been accomplished.
In keeping with the three processes of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, be
sure that:
All activities are girl-led. Take into account the age and abilities of the girls. Older girls can take the
bulk of the responsibility for carefully planning and executing activities, while younger girls will require
more of your guidance but should still be deeply involved in making decisions about their activities.
Girls have the chance to learn cooperatively. Have girls teach each other new skills they may need for
the activities, rather than hearing all that from you.
Girls learn by doing. If research or special equipment is needed, they’ll learn better by doing that
research themselves than by having you do the legwork and report back to them. Even Daisies can do
basic research and give reports or do show-and-tell for each other. Ambassadors may need you only
for moral support as they research, teach each other, and plan every detail of their excursions.
If Safety Activity Checkpoints do not exist for an activity you and the girls are interested in, check with your
council before making any definite plans with the girls. A few activities are allowed only with written council
pre-approval and only for girls 12 and over, while some are off-limits completely:
Caution: You must get written pre-approval from your council for girls ages 12 and older who will
operate motorized vehicles, such as go-carts and personal watercraft; use firearms; take trips on
waterways that are highly changeable or uncontrollable; experience simulated skydiving and zerogravity rooms; or fly in noncommercial aircraft, such as small private planes, helicopters, sailplanes,
untethered hot air balloons, and blimps.
Warning: The following activities are never allowed for any girl: potentially uncontrolled free-falling
(bungee jumping, hang gliding, parachuting, parasailing, go-karting, and trampolining); creating
extreme variations of approved activities (such as high-altitude climbing and aerial tricks on bicycles,
skis, snowboards, skateboards, water-skis, and wakeboards); hunting; shooting a projectile at another
person; riding all-terrain vehicles and motor bikes; and taking watercraft trips in Class V or higher.
An additional note: Girl Scouts welcomes and serves girls and families from a wide spectrum of faiths and
cultures. When girls wish to participate in discussions or activities that could be considered sensitive—even for
some—put the topic on hold until you have spoken with parents and rec