Knowing Where She Wants to Go

STUDIO 2BSM destinations offers girls 11-17 exciting opportunities to venture outside their own communities.

By MariClare Krzyzewski, staff writer

"There's nothing to do around here!" You can live in the city, country, or suburb and if you know a teen, you have heard this umpteen times. So, offer a solution: STUDIO 2B destinations.

STUDIO 2B destinations, formerly called "wider opportunities," now offers girls 11 to 17 a means to travel to exciting places, make lifelong friends, and explore their interests. It can be a chance of a lifetime.

Expanded Options

STUDIO 2B destinations offers more kinds of trips, different lengths of trips, and greater depth and focus on special interests than did wider opportunities. The adventurous heart of wider opportunities has not been replaced—just expanded. Girls can still participate in council-sponsored adventures, whether touring a city, providing service at a camp for kids with special needs, experiencing life as a hospital doctor, honing a sports interest, learning what it takes to be an entrepreneur, or swapping ideas at a World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts international event. GSUSA "partner" events, such as leadership-building activities in the wilderness sponsored by Outward Bound USA, also offer expanded choices. And girls can still receive financial assistance from GSUSA.

Getaways

With STUDIO 2B destinations, councils and GSUSA are promoting "Getaways," events that can be described as quick weekend or short trips—that don't require an application, just a registration form. Most of these events encourage girls to come as a troop. This past year, for example, Girl Scouts of Mid-Continent Council, offered a Getaway event for 300 girls from across the country and more are planned. Check www.studio2b.org/escape/destinations to find out about Getaways offered year-round.

Collaborative Events

This past year, SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Adventure Camps collaborated with GSUSA to create events that brought girls face to face with land and marine animals and the scientists who care for them. The Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School showed girls the immense biodiversity of Costa Rica by travels through the rainforest. At a new collaboration this year with the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, girls will learn hands-on skills in aviation and astronomics.

In these collaborations, GSUSA ensures that the participants are all Girl Scouts and that facilitators are familiar with program goals and safety guidelines. In addition, event fees are significantly reduced.

Events Online

Although 2003 was the third year that travel events for girls had been posted online, it was the first year for destinations and the first year that girls were informed of events by postcards (for girls 12–17), rather than by catalogs sent through the mail. The greatest advantage of online posting is the ability to broadcast changes and post new events, especially Getaways, as they become available. Despite concerns about access to the Internet, more girls participated in the application process in the first round in 2003 than in 2002.

Tips for Helping Girls Apply

1. Aim high, but stay grounded. Help a girl avoid getting bumped from the selection process after the first selection round for national and international destinations by helping her list choices realistically.

2. Don't be discouraged by the price. STUDIO 2B destinations are not cheap, but they are a travel bargain. Assist girls in creating budgets for event choices, then help them earn money by navigating GSUSA and council money-earning guidelines. Note about cost: GSUSA subsidizes all destinations that require applications. (In 2004, each event was subsidized by 11%.) Subsidized prices are posted online on the event's description page located at www.studio2b.org/escape/destinations. Remember to find out whether or not your council offers travelships.

3. Handling the reference. The two letters of reference are an important part of the STUDIO 2B destinations application. Remember that girls' should not ask family members to write letters of reference, even if Mom is the leader. Instead, have the girls ask teachers, council staff members, coaches, or religious leaders or other appropriate adults.

4. Make the connection. Encourage girls to attend council-sponsored meetings about destinations. Staff will explain the application and selection processes, announce council deadlines, and let girls know who their "go-to" person is at the council.

Visit the Web Site

Go to www.studio2b.org/escape/destinations for event listings, information about destinations, and the STUDIO 2B destinations application.

Girls can search events by the type (Science, Outdoors, People, International, Getaways, or Apprenticeships); age requirements; locations; dates; or keywords.

Who Can Participate?

STUDIO 2B destinations are for Girl Scouts. Some events are age specific. Even though STUDIO 2B program offerings are listed as offerings for girls 11–17, an 18-year-old is still considered a girl member until September 30th of the year she must register as an adult.
As an adult, you may be interested in applying as an advisor for an event. Events that offer adult volunteer positions are listed online. Adults can also contact the event sponsor to inquire about available positions. Some of these are paid positions. A STUDIO 2B destinations advisor guide from GSUSA is available to help find out more.

For information and resources, email destinations@girlscouts.org.

Adapted from LEADER, Summer 2004. © Girl Scouts of the United States of America.