Join us to make fresh apple cider using an old-fashioned screw press
as you explore the use of simple machines and learn about the history
of cider making from colonial times to the present. This program is
located at Tenafly Nature Center in Tenafly, NJ. Fee includes a fun patch.
For Girl Scout Juniors
The following is a list of program activities and their descriptions for the 2022-2023 Girl Scout year. Download the Program Planner and search our Program Activities List and Program | Events Calendar web pages for dates and registration details.
Create your own Program Activities List
Print out your own listing of all available program activities with their program descriptions. Locate the PRINTER ICON BUTTON (small green printer illustration) at the top right-hand corner of the web page under the main photo. Use that button to automatically create and print out pages that include all of the programs PLUS their descriptions for this Girl Scout level. For a complete guide to all of our council's program activities, print out the pages for each level. Then, mark your favorites, search gsEvents for the dates and times that program activity is being offered, and register.
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Apple Cider Making
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Archery at Jockey Hollow & Lake Rickabear Camps
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With a little practice and good hand-eye coordination, you’ll be hitting bullseyes in no time. During this two-hour session, you’ll learn all about archery—the equipment, safety, and shooting on an archery range. Choose between our two camps for your preferred location: at Jockey Hollow Camp in Mendham or Lake Rickabear Camp in Kinnelon.
Archery sessions are available from mid-April through mid-November. Sessions must be reserved at least 30 days prior to desired date. Adults can register to participate, too. For more information or questions, email camping@gsnnj.org.
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Become a ROCKstar
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Become a ROCKstar during this 1.5 hour program where you will learn proper equipment use, basic climbing techniques, and safety while increasing strength, balance, flexibility, and problem solving skills. Gain confidence, leadership skills, and experience in two different styles of climbing, Top Rope and Bouldering, utilizing innovative climbing structures. Wear sneakers/athletic shoes and comfortable clothing. All necessary equipment is included.
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Bronze Award Workshop
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When Girl Scout Juniors team up to make a difference in their community, they learn important leadership skills, discover new passions, and watch how seemingly small actions make a big difference. It all adds up to the Girl Scout Bronze Award—the highest honor a Junior can achieve. For those parents and troop leaders who will be mentoring girls seeking to earn the Girl Scout Bronze Award, this workshop will help you understand the requirements and steps to achieving it. Attendance is optional, but highly recommended.
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Business Visionary
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Earn your Girl Scout Junior Business Jumpstart Badge by brainstorming ideas for new products that could change lives and learning how to turn a good idea into a business. In this workshop, you’ll share your new product ideas with others, get feedback from them, improve your product idea, and create a commercial to sell it. This activity will help girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Business Jumpstart Badge.
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Cake Decorating I: FUNdamentals
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Be creative with icing as you learn from a professional baker how to decorate a cake that you can take home. You’ll earn Part 1 of your Girl Scout Bake Arts Patch as you master the basic skills for turning something tasty into something beautiful, too. Fee includes program materials, professional instruction, and part 1 of a Bake Arts Multilevel patch. Take-home materials also include a practice board, pastry bag, information sheet, four decorating tips, and a small spatula (retail value of $22). Adults can register and participate, too. Chaperones who are not participating do not need to register online or pay. A registered adult must remain for the duration of the program activity.
Note: Food items may contain or be cross contaminated during manufacture/processing with known food allergens, including but not limited to: wheat/gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, dyes/coloring.
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Cake Decorating II: Borders and Basket Weaving/Beyond Basics
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Build on the decorating skills you learned in Cake Decorating I, as you work with bakery icing to create ruffled swags and basket weaves on a cake you can take home. You will learn to equally divide a cake to create borders using piping techniques. Cake Decorating I is a prerequisite. Fee includes program materials, professional instruction, and part 2 of a Bake Arts Multilevel patch. Take-home materials also include four decorating tips and practice boards (retail value of $10). Adults can register and participate, too. Chaperones who are not participating do not need to register online or pay. A registered adult must remain for the duration of the program activity.
Note: Food items may contain or be cross contaminated during manufacture/processing with known food allergens, including but not limited to: wheat/gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, dyes/coloring.
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Camp Like a G.I.R.L.
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Get the chance to be a go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, and leader during this overnight camping experience at Jockey Hollow Day Camp in Mendham. You’ll hike the trails, stomp in the stream, set up a tent, and enjoy an evening by the campfire making S'mores. Sleep in the comfort of a cabin that includes thick mattresses, sinks, and flush toilets, and enjoy meals served outdoors in the pavilion. This program activity helps girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Eco Camper Badge and Girl Scout Junior Camper Badge (Steps 1, 2, 4 & 5). Fees include accommodations, night snack, breakfast, lunch, a hiking snack, program supplies, and Eco Camper badge. LINK patch can be purchased at the council shops.
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Campfire and Night Hike
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Experience the changes that occur in the forest as day turns to night during this short, guided evening hike on the trails of the Tenafly Nature Center. We’ll play games as we listen for animals and test our sensory skills along the way. Afterwards, you’ll enjoy songs, stories, and fun-filled activities while we roast marshmallows around a campfire.
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Chemistry of Beauty
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Be a chemist for a day with the help of the staff at Bellus Skincare Lab in Pompton Plains, NJ. You’ll learn about the chemistry behind natural beauty products and how they affect your skin, health, and hygiene. Professional lab technicians will explain the science behind your skin as you take a closer look under a microscope and determine the best cleansing products for you. You’ll even create your own personal cleansing product to take home. This program will help girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Product Designer Badge, Girl Scout Ambassador Research & Development Badge, Girl Scout Cadette Science of Happiness Badge (Step 2), and Girl Scout Senior Science of Style Badge (Steps 1, 3 & 5). Adults can register and participate, too.
In-person participants will take home a personal cleansing product, essential oil guide, and Bellus Skincare Labs fun patch.
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Crack the Case
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Girl Scout Juniors and Cadettes, here's your chance to crack the case with techniques used by real forensic scientists. Learn skills like fingerprint comparison and analyzing ballistics. After your workshop, you'll visit the Jennifer Chaltsy Planetarium (the largest in the Northern Hemisphere), followed by an opportunity to explore three floors of exhibits at the Liberty Science Center. Your fee includes museum admission, private GSNNJ workshop, and the planetarium. Two registered adults per troop are needed to register along with their troop. This activity will help girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Detective Badge (Steps 3, 4 & 5) or Girl Scout Cadette Special Agent Badge (Steps 1 & 2).
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Cupcake Create!
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Learn how to decorate cupcakes beautifully with the help of a professional baker during this lesson in basic icing piping. You will decorate four seasonally-themed cupcakes to take home. Fee includes all decorating tools and materials needed for use in class. Note: Food items may contain or be cross contaminated during manufacture/processing with known food allergens, including but not limited to: wheat/gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, dyes/coloring. Adults can register and participate, too. Chaperones who are not participating do not need to register online or pay, however, a registered adult must remain for the duration of the program activity.
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Dairy Days
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Meet the Jersey cows of Fosterfields, and learn how to churn butter! See how ice cream is made the old fashioned way and take a turn churning it yourself. End the session with a sweet treat. This program wil help girl earn the Girl Scout Brownie Snacks Badge (Steps 3 & 5); Girl Scout Junior Playing the Past Badge (Step 3); the Girl Scout Cadette Animal Helpers Badge (Step 1) and New Cuisines Badge (Step 3); and the Girl Scout Senior Voice for Animals Badge (Steps 1 & 3).
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Dance Off Robot Style
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Program and design a dancing robot! Working in teams with EV3 LEGO Mindstorms, you'll discover what robots are and learn what makes them go. You'll prototype a team bot, program it, and use your creative powers to deck it out. Then, each team will showcase their new creation in a "dance-off" robotics competition. Earn your Girl Scout Junior Programming Robots, Designing Robots, and Showcasing Robots badges during this hands-on activity.
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Endless Energy
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Come spend some time at Jockey Hollow Camp making beaded bracelets and recycled paper to learn how to conserve the energy all around us. We'll play games and participate in experiments to learn about heat and light energy; take a hike and observe the energy of animals; and investigate our camp buildings and the energy they use. Participation in these fun activities will help you earn your Girls Scout Junior Get Moving! Journey, and Energize and Investigate Awards. Your Take Action Project and the Innovate Award will need to be completed after the program.
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FallFest
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Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey invites you to attend FallFest Weekend, Saturday, Oct. 22 & Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, at Lake Rickabear Camp in Kinnelon. Learn more about our 2022-2023 program offerings and meet the staff of Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey at FallFest. Come and sample fun and exciting Girl Scout activities, including archery, rock climbing, ziplining, yoga, and more. Food trucks will be on-site for purchasing snacks. Plan out your Girl Scout year. At FallFest, you can sign up early for this year's program activities—before they sell out! Plus, take advantage of special FallFest promotions and earn prizes. Choose a start time on your preferred date when you register. FallFest will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on both days.
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Family Fun Days & Family Camping at Lake Rickabear
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Bring your family to Lake Rickabear Camp for our Family Fun Days and Family Camping and have an outdoor adventure with us during Memorial Day and Labor Day Weekends! Spend the day or reserve overnight accommodations. Each campsite offers an outdoor cooking grill with picnic table and flush toilets and hot showers are available nearby. Lake Rickabear Camp offers a 40-acre, spring-fed lake with a 700-foot sandy beach, fishing, miniature golf, outdoor bowling, volleyball, tennis, basketball, and more! For more information, email camping@gsnnj.org or visit: www.gsnnj.org/FamilyFun
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Family Swim & Picnic at Lake Rickabear
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LAKE RICKABEAR CAMP IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR SEASONAL MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS. THERE WILL BE NO FAMILY SWIM OR FAMILY CAMPING DURING LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2022.
Bring your family for a fun day at Lake Rickabear, a 40-acre, spring-fed lake with a 700-foot sandy beach Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Camp offers fishing, miniature golf, outdoor bowling, volleyball, tennis, basketball, and more. Charcoal grills and picnic tables are available. Identification bands are issued when you check-in. NO ADVANCE RESERVATION REQUIRED. Family Swim and Picnic is open to Girl Scouts and non-Girl Scout friends and family. For more information, email camping@gsnnj.org or visit: www.gsnnj.org/FamilyFun.
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Floral Botanical Water Lab
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Be a scientist for a day with the help of Bellus Skincare Labs staff in Pompton Plains, NJ. You’ll work with organic flowers to create your own floral scented water mist in a lab. Learn about the anatomy of flowers and the role of flowers in healing and beauty products, such as essential oils. This program will help girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Flowers Badge.
In-person participants will take home a personal body mist in an atomizer bottle with a custom label, a floral anatomy guide, and Bellus Skincare Labs fun patch. LINK patch and completed badge can be purchased at the council shops. Adults can register and participate, too.
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Girl Scouts Love State Parks Weekend
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Every year, Girl Scouts explore the natural wonders found across our country during the Girl Scouts Love State Parks weekend. This year from Sept. 10-11, New Jersey State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites celebrates Girl Scouts Love State Parks Weekend with thirty guided programs and countless opportunities for self-guided hikes and activities across the entire state.
The registration link will re-direct you to the NJ State Parks website with a full listing of state-wide programs and information for Girl Scouts, their troops, and their families as well as links to DIY activities, hiking, and picnicking information. Note that the guided interpretive programs and events have capacity limits and require pre-registration (all pre-registration is happening directly through the Park Services, which you will be redirected to when you click on the registration link).
Want patches? Special 2022 Girl Scout Love State patches can be purchased from our council retail store and are available as a fun patch to commemorate any event at a state park throughout year, as well as events during this weekend.
Want to explore parks across the USA and/or download your free Girl Scouts Love State Parks passport? Check out GSUSA's national Girl Scouts Love State Parks website! The passport can be used to explore any state park and participate in our national #PickUpAmerica campaign.
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Gingerbread House Construction 101
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Create your own gingerbread house with some imagination and a lot of icing and other edible decorations this virtual program. You’ll learn the best ways to make this fun and festive food item. This program activity helps girls earn the Girl Scout Brownies Snacks Badge (Steps 1 & 3), Girl Scout Brownies Senses Badge (Step 4), Girl Scout Junior Simple Meals Badge (Steps 1 & 4), and Girl Scout Cadette New Cuisines Badge (Step 3). Fee includes a gingerbread house kit and one-hour live virtual class.
Virtual and in-person special arrangements are available for this program. Adults can register and participate, too. Adults who are not participating do not need to register online or pay.
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High Tech Hide and Seek
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Come join the fun in this popular high tech game of Hide and Seek played a whole new way. Learn how to use a handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) unit. Practice with the units and then in small groups begin your treasure hunting game on camp property using your GPS as your guide. Prizes for everyone when you find the cache! Patch and complete badge can be purchased at the council shops. This activity helps girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Geocacher Badge (steps 1, 2, 4) or Girl Scout Cadette Trailblazing Badge (steps 2, 4)
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Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with us and enjoy unique cultural traditions and cuisines at the Cultural Connections Festival in Dover, Sept. 17, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Bring the whole family! Learn some traditional dances.
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Jockey Hollow Day Camp Open House
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You’re invited to tour the beautiful camp facilities at Jockey Hollow Camp in Mendham. Come meet our staff, ask questions, and make S’mores. With a large "L"-shaped swimming pool, Low-Ropes Challenge Course, and Zip Line, beautiful equestrian center, archery range, playing field, and adventurous hiking trails, the fun is endless at our camp. Walk through our luxurious cabins and activity shelters, see our large troop house and spacious pavilion, and more. Stop by anytime between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and bring a friend or two. New or returning campers and their families are invited to attend.
Registration is suggested in case of program cancelation, but not required. Driving directions will be emailed when you register online.
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Junior Cyber Squad
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Develop your force field super powers as you dive into the world of cybersecurity! You’ll earn the first two badges in the series covering the basics and how to stay safe online. Find out how the internet works and what it means to be a computer scientist. Try your hand at encryption as we play games and solve puzzles to hack codes. This program activity will help girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Cybersecurity 1: Basics Badge and Girl Scout Junior Cybersecurity 2: Safeguards Badge.
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Lake Rickabear Day Camp Open House
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Take a tour of our Lake Rickabear Camp in Kinnelon. Meet our camp staff and enjoy refreshments as you discover what makes our summer camp program so desirable. Our beautiful 40-acre, spring-fed lake is perfect for pedal boating, row boating, paddle boarding, and swimming, and has a long stretch of sandy beach. You’ll also see our archery range, low-ropes challenge course, mini golf course, zip line, rock wall, equestrian area, gaga ball pit, and hiking trails. Girl Scouts and non-Girl Scouts are welcome to register for our camps. Bring along a friend or two! Reservations are requested in case of cancelation due to inclement weather. Driving directions will be emailed post-registration.
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Low Ropes Challenge Course at Jockey Hollow & Lake Rickabear Camps
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Build self-confidence, team cooperation, and problem-solving skills, both individually and as a troup, when a trained facilitator guides you through low rope elements and group initiative activities. Your team will work through frustrations and gain confidence as they create a solution for each activity. Each challenge activity will be geared to the participants’ age levels during this 2-hour program. Girls in Grade 4 or older can enjoy a zip line experience.
Choose between our two camps for your preferred location: at Jockey Hollow Camp in Mendham or Lake Rickabear Camp in Kinnelon.Low Ropes Challenge Course sessions are available from mid-April through mid-November. Sessions must be reserved at least 30 days prior to desired date. For more information or questions, email camping@gsnnj.org.
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Maple Sugaring
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Enjoy a late winter day at Lake Rickabear Camp and discover how maple syrup is made. You’ll be able to experience the maple sugaring process with all your senses. Bring your troop or family. This program activity will help girls earn the Girl Scout Cadettes Trees Badge (Steps 1, 2 & 4). Fee includes program supplies and a fun patch for each Girl Scout. Link patch can be purchased at the council shops. Girl Scouts and non-Girl Scout family members are welcome to register and participate. Children under age 3 are free. Program will occur in sunshine, rain, or snow. Come dressed for the weather.
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Me & My Hero
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Bring your favorite hero along for a day of outdoor fun at Lake Rickabear Camp in Kinnelon. Explore the trails, enjoy a hotdog cooked on the grill, play miniature golf, try our outdoor bowling alley, and more! Wear your bathing suit and bring a towel for some water fun in the lake. Fee includes all games and activities, hot dog lunch, and fun patch. Heroes do not have to be Girl Scout members.
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Morning Chores on the Farm
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You’ll feel like a real farmer when you help with the morning chores on a local farm at Fosterfields in Morristown, NJ. Chores may include feeding and watering the animals, sweeping the barn, herding the sheep, and helping our farmers take the animals out to the pasture. This program activity will help girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Playing the Past Badge (3) and Girl Scout Cadette Animal Helpers Badge (1). Dress appropriately for working and be prepared to get dirty.
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Owls and Hawks and Falcons...Oh My!
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Day and night, raptors are flying, hunting, and roosting here in New Jersey. Through the exploration of artifacts and live birds of prey, you'll learn about Flat Rock Brook’s feathered ambassadors, including their behavior, physiology, adaptations, and natural history.
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Perfectly Imperfect
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Discover how to better focus on what your body can do, than on how it looks. During this program, you’ll explore yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques that will help you ignore the negative body image messaging in advertising, movies, television, and social media. You’ll learn tools that will help you connect with your inner voice, maintain your confidence, and be true to yourself at Body Positive Works in Saddle River, NJ. This program activity helps girls earn the Girl Scout Brownie My Best Self Badge, Girl Scout Junior Staying Fit Badge, and Girl Scout Cadette Science of Happiness Badge. Completed badge can be purchased at the council shop.
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Pop Art Painting
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Develop your creative talents by creating a large-scale self-portrait that celebrates your inner and outer beauty. Making a self-portrait is a way to express who you are and it’s a lot of fun. In this workshop, not only will you get to learn how to draw your unique facial features, but you will also get to experiment with some unconventional painting techniques. To spark inspiration, a teaching artist will guide you through a professional art gallery before heading to the art studio to start creating. Explore your unique facial features and draw a self-portrait on a large piece of painting paper. Learn how to add mood to your self-portrait through facial expression, color use, and mark-making with unconventional painting supplies.
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Puppet Creator
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Design and make your own moppet style puppet in this very hands-on workshop. Learn from a professional puppet design master whose credits include making puppets big enough to ride! This class will challenge your creativity, and at the end of the session you can take your new puppet home. Fee includes instruction and materials, plus pizza and a snack.
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Rule Makers vs. Rule Breakers
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Discover what it means to be part of a democracy—and how everyone in a democratic government shares the job and responsibility of deciding the rules. Find out more about how our government works by sharing your ideas and participating in fun activities that will help you understand what your role is and can be in a democracy. This program activity will help girls earn the Girl Scout Brownie Democracy Badge, Girl Scout Junior Democracy Badge, and Girl Scout Cadette Democracy Badge.
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Sensational Stars
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Get a closer look at the stars in the sky when our Starlab traveling planetarium visits Jockey Hollow Camp in Mendham. You’ll work on your space badge as you study the constellations and other elements of the night sky. This program activity helps girls earn the Girl Scout Daisy Space Science Explorer Badge and Girl Scout Brownie Space Science Adventurer Badge (Steps 1, 2, 3 & 4).
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Sewing 1
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Create a fun, easy to sew project using a computerized sewing machine. You’ll discover how sewing incorporates technology, art, and math. Plus, you’ll learn the language of sewing and how to choose and pin fabric by creating a one-of-a-kind pillowcase. Fee includes all program materials. Adults can register and participate, too.
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Sewing 2
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Once you’ve completed Sewing 1, expand your sewing knowledge and skills in this workshop using a computerized sewing machine to make an elastic waistband skirt or halter top. You’ll learn about style, body measurements, and the basics of garment construction, as you explore your personal style and build your confidence in creating your own clothing designs. Fee includes all program materials. Sewing 1 is a prerequisite. Adults can register and participate, too.
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Sleep with the Fish
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Enjoy an overnight adventure in a building filled with amazing creatures and marine mammals during this sleepover at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. Take a guided tour and listen to stories about the biodiversity found in our bodies of water from the sea to the lakes and rivers. Experience a special 3D movie and take part in a hands-on craft activity. Dinner and a snack are included. In the morning, you'll visit the seals and watch their morning feeding.
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Snow and Ice Family Fun
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Bring your sleds, snow shoes, and ice skates (or borrow a pair of ours) to Lake Rickabear Camp for a family fun day filled with snow and ice adventure. Weather permitting and after an ice thickness test, you and your family can go sledding down the hill and onto our frozen lake. Then, lace up your ice skates and glide onto our cleared lake ice rink. Or, try hiking around the camp grounds in a pair of snow shoes (GSNNJ will have a limited number of those to loan out, too). Bonfires, S'mores making, and hot chocolate will be provided. Don't miss our dog sledding demo!
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STEM Investigators
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Discover the world of chemical, mechanical, biomedical, and civil engineering through this interactive workshop. You’ll explore the engineering design process with the help of Rutgers University students from Phi Sigma Rho sorority (the first social sorority for engineers). Earn and receive your Girl Scout Junior Mechanical Engineering Badge. Accompanying adults are welcome to take “STEM in My Daughter’s Life,” a simultaneous workshop designed to provide you with resources to enhance your troop meetings or your weekends. This program activity will help girls earn the Girl Scout Junior Mechanical Engineering Badge. Fee includes activities, lunch, and badge. LINK patch can be purchased at the council shops. Adults, please adhere to Safety Activity checkpoints and register a minimum of two adults per troop.
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Summer Camp Information Night
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Join us for a virtual Camp Information Night via Zoom to learn about our summer camp progams at Jockey Hollow and Lake Rickabear Day Camps. Meet the Camp Directors, discover the many activities we offer, and have all your questions answered. You don't have to be a Girl Scout to attend our camps. Invite a non-Girl Scout friend along who may want to attend camp with you. Camp information nights are designed for new campers and parents, but returning campers are always welcome. Registration is required to obtain the Zoom link, which will be emailed to all registered participants 1-2 days before the event.
NOTE: Adults only need to register if they are attending the session alone.
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Turkey Trek
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Enjoy a late fall trek around Lake Rickabear Camp’s 1.2 mile trail. Take photos with your with family or troop and the beautiful scenery as your backdrop. Learn about nature through a fun scavenger hunt that supports the Eco Girl Scout badges. Each paid participant will receive a Turkey Trek 2022 pin. Pre-registration is required: http://bit.ly/GSNNJfamilyevent.
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Twilight Campfire
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Join us for S'mores around the campfire as we gather to sing along to classic campfire tunes. This is a fantastic place to learn new songs and traditions for those who are new to Girl Scouts. Program fee includes a fun patch for each girl. Please bring a jacket and a flashlight.
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Virtual Travel Showcase
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Join us for this virtual presentation about our trip and travel benefits for our members. The GSNNJ program team has been planning some exciting events from camping to glamping! Our trips include single (1) night overnights such as one at Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT, an overnight in Washington D.C., and a stay in Philadelphia, as well as five-day (5) trips to Savannah, GA, and beyond. Learn more about our first ever, adult-only, trip to Memphis, TN, and hear about our amazing Girl Scout Destination program. Plus, hear the latest news about our 2023 Girl Scout National Council Session and Convention being held in Orlando, FL.
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Wizarding School
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Spend a weekend at Wizarding School at our Camp Glen Spey. Enroll and take classes in potions, magical plants, creature care, and more. Visit a wand workshop and see what the local village has in store for you! Students and chaperones will stay overnight in troop houses or our new smaller cabins. Fee includes program supplies, lodging, meals, Wizarding School Patch and capes! Troops must register two leaders with current background checks.
