5 Fun Activities to help you earn the Democracy Brownie Badge

What You Need:

• Two distinct healthy snack options (e.g., apples vs. bananas, or pretzels vs. popcorn), paper voting slips, a decorated tissue box as a ballot box, and "I Voted" stickers.

How to Do It:

1. Set up a mini election where girls vote on the troop snack for the meeting.
2. Give two volunteers 1 minute each to give a "campaign speech" advocating for their favorite snack choice.
3. Have every girl fill out a secret ballot behind a folder screen, drop it in the ballot box, and wear an "I Voted" sticker while you count the results together.

Why It's Fun & Works for the Badge:

Girls get immediate, tangible results from their vote, making the voting process real, rewarding, and delicious while covering secret voting requirements!

Leader Tip and Product Recommendation:

Keep arguments light and fun! To save time decorating your own voting box, grab a ready-to-use tabletop voting box on Amazon.

What You Need:

• Printable "Mayor" sash or paper crown
• Toy gavel
• List of 3 simple troop decisions (e.g., which song to sing first, game to play, or line order).

How to Do It:

1. Select a girl to be the "Troop Mayor" for a 10-minute segment of the meeting.
2. The Mayor presides over a quick council meeting where girls suggest ideas for troop activities.
3. The Mayor calls for votes using her gavel and announces the majority decision.

Why It's Fun & Works for the Badge:

Role-playing gives 7- and 8-year-olds a clear understanding of what executive leaders do in local government in a playful, memorable way.

Leader Tips & Product Recommendations:
Rotate the mayor role so multiple girls get a turn holding the gavel! You can grab a sturdy wooden gavel set on Amazon to make the experience feel super official.

What You Need:

• 3 hula hoops labeled "Legislative (Makes Laws)", "Executive (Enforces Laws)", and "Judicial (Checks Laws)",
• Index cards with simple government jobs written on them.

How to Do It:

1. Place the 3 labeled hula hoops at one end of your meeting space.
2. Divide girls into two teams and place a stack of job cards at the starting line.
3. Girls run down one at a time, place their card in the correct branch hoop, and run back to tag the next teammate.

Why It's Fun & Works for the Badge:

It gets energetic Brownies up and moving while physically sorting and reinforcing how the three branches of government divide responsibility.

Leader Tips and Product Recommendation:
Use color-coded hula hoops or bright floor spots on Amazon so girls can easily spot the right branch from across the room.

What You Need:

• : Poster board, colorful markers, stickers, and cut-out paper stars.

How to Do It:

1. Gather the girls in a circle and discuss why rules help keep everyone safe and happy.
2. Ask the girls to suggest 3–4 fair rules for troop meetings (e.g., "Listen when others speak," "Help clean up," "Be kind").
3. Write the agreed-upon rules on a poster board titled "Our Troop Constitution" and have every girl sign her name on a paper star to stick around the border.

Why It's Fun & Works for the Badge:

It directly connects historical documents like the U.S. Constitution to their own troop community while encouraging ownership of meeting behavior.

Leader Tips and Product Recommendations:
Display this poster at every meeting! Stock up on giant poster markers so all the girls can sign boldly.

What You Need:

• A simple prop (like a stuffed animal or gavel) passed down a line of girls.

How to Do It:

1. Have girls sit in a line representing "Idea," "Congress," "President," and "Law."
2. Girl 1 introduces a silly idea (e.g., "Every Friday is Pajama Day").
3. She passes the prop down the line: Congress discusses and votes, the President approves or vetoes, and the final girl announces if the bill officially becomes a troop law!

Why It's Fun & Works for the Badge:
It breaks down the step-by-step process of how a bill becomes a law into a clear, interactive story loop girls can easily digest.

Leader Tip:
Keep the proposed ideas silly and lighthearted to hold 2nd and 3rd graders' attention throughout the chain!