We’re making Brownies available to more tamariki around New Zealand! We’ve created a safe, fun, engaging digital Brownies option for tamariki who are unable to attend normal Unit meetings, but would still like to do the exciting activities that GirlGuiding members do.

Explore Brownies is a programme specifically designed for 7 to 9 1/2 year olds. In Explore Brownies, tamariki work independently with parental supervision to lead their own learning at their own pace. Tamariki receive 1-1 feedback from a Leader so it is an ideal programme for stimulating inquisitive young minds and growing independent learners. Explore Brownies can also be accessed at any time so makes for great school holiday learning and entertainment.

Explore Brownies is an extremely flexible programme designed to fit in with the busy lives of modern families. Explore Brownies can be enjoyed at anytime from anywhere with an internet connection. This makes it an ideal option for tamariki who may live far away from a Brownie Unit or who have other commitments on the local Unit night. Explore Brownies is great for tamariki who may not be able to commit to the same time every week or who move between houses. Explore Brownies are also invited to events within the wider Guiding community.

Tamariki will take part in age-appropriate activities developed in accordance with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Educational Method. Activities include:

• Taking on experiments in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths).
• Learning to care for the environment.
• Learning how to be safe outdoors.
• Exploring the community and looking after it.
• Growing and caring for plants.
• Trying new outdoor activities and challenging themselves.
• Learning how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Learning about all aspects of diversity.
• Trying orienteering or geocaching.
• Experiencing new activities on wheels.

Tamariki who are involved with GirlGuiding develop confidence and learn many new skills. Tamariki are outdoors as much as possible, and they are encouraged to help in their community, learn about other cultures, and work on their motor skills. We believe that we are the only organisation in New Zealand offering such positive and confidence-building activities to tamariki, and we’d love to be able to make a positive impact for your tamariki. You can find out more about GirlGuiding New Zealand here.

Explore Brownies runs on a subscription model. The subscription period and price is stated on the registration form. With over 150 Brownie activities available, tamariki can choose their own adventure.

Your credit card will be charged each time the subscription renews. You can cancel your re-subscription at any time by logging into your Explore account profile. Please note that cancelling a subscription will prevent subscription renewal but you will continue to have access to your Explore account for the rest of your subscription period. Any badges earnt during a subscription period are sent out after re-subscription date, even if the subscription has been cancelled.

Explore Brownies is designed to get tamariki more active and interested in their wider worlds. The online activities are typically a prompt for tamariki to do something in the ‘real world’. We aim for tamariki to spend only a small portion of their time using the online component, and the vast majority of their time doing activities off-screen.

The internet has become an everyday part of life, and tamariki are growing up with it, using it to learn and play more than any generation before them has done. It’s a wonderful resource but we need to make sure that we are safe online; the online safety of your tamariki is of vital importance to us.

Our site is:

• Secure, with SSL encryption
• Specifically designed for Brownies
• Monitored by GirlGuiding NZ

We have made sure that your tamariki will be safe on our site – within the activities there are no external links for them to click on and no advertising pop-ups.

All of our Leaders have been interviewed, police vetted and offered training for dealing with tamariki. These helpful tips will help ensure a safe environment for your tamariki;

1. Stay on the Explore Brownies website; do not go to any other website

We recommend your tamariki uses the Explore Brownies programme in a family space rather than by themselves in their room. This will allow you to monitor what they are doing.

It’s important to emphasise that your tamariki should stay on the Explore Brownies website rather than clicking on anything else, such as apps that may be on the device.

2. Get help if you get stuck or are unsure about anything

It’s always better for tamariki to get help rather than trying to fix something themselves. If they don’t know what to do, they need to be able to get an adult to help them.

Netsafe, New Zealand’s online safety organisation, has developed good resources around content risks. They have a Safety Button available for free download that can be clicked on if a child sees something distressing online. Clicking on the button causes the screen to be covered with an underwater scene and a message encouraging the child to get an adult.

These links contain useful information for parents about helping children with the internet:

• Your Child and the Online World: hectorsworld.netsafe.org.nz
• Netsafe tips for parents: netsafe.org.nz

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Educational Method is a unique model of non-formal education to support the development of tamariki in diverse groups. It creates a learning environment where tamariki can take the lead and make choices about what they do. Read more here.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. It is an important educational focus area needed to fill global skill shortages and readytamariki for success in the 21^st century. This is especially important for tamariki who are under-represented in STEAM related careers. STEAM learning develops creativity, innovation, problem solving and curiosity.

Explore Guides, for 9 – 12 1/2 year old rangatahi, launched in October 2021.

Explore Rangers, for 12 1/2 – 17 year old girls, will be launching in the future. In the mean time, older rangatahi may join a local Unit or our Aotearoa distance option.

While many activities require no special resources, some activities do require resources. These activities have suggestions on what you can use, but you can swap/change the resources with what you already have at home for any activity. For example; if you don’t have any googly eyes you can make your own using cardboard, paper and a marker.

As you and your tamariki can choose which activities to do, you can choose to do ones that don’t require you to buy resources, especially if you live remotely.

We hope you have fun with the activities in Explore Brownies and we can’t wait to see what you do!

These resources are a guideline for what you can expect to see in some of the Explore Brownies activities – PDF.

If your question hasn’t been answered here, please contact us.