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

Explore Guides is a programme specifically designed for 9 to 12 1/2 year olds. In Explore Guides, rangatahi work independently with parental supervision to lead their own learning at their own pace. Rangatahi receive 1-1 feedback from a Leader so it is an ideal programme for stimulating inquisitive young minds and growing independent learners. Explore Guides can also be accessed at any time so makes for great school holiday learning and entertainment.

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

Girls 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.

Rangatahi who are involved with GirlGuiding develop confidence and learn many new skills. Our rangatahi 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 rangatahi, and we’d love to be able to make a positive impact in your rangatahi life. You can find out more about GirlGuiding New Zealand here.

Explore Guides operates on subscription. The subscription period and price is stated on the registration form. With over 100 Guides activities available, rangatahi can choose their own adventure.

Your credit card is charged each time the subscription renews. You are able to 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 Guides is designed to get rangatahi more active and interested in their wider worlds. The online activities are typically a prompt for rangatahi to do something in the ‘real world’. We aim for rangatahi 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 rangatahi 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 rangatahi is of vital importance to us.

Our site is:

• Secure, with SSL encryption
• Specifically designed for Guides
• Monitored by GirlGuiding 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 rangatahi in diverse groups. It creates a learning environment where rangatahi 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 ready rangatahi for success in the 21^st century. This is especially important for rangatahi who are underrepresented in STEAM related careers. STEAM learning develops creativity, innovation, problem solving and curiosity.

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 rangatahi 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 Guides and we can’t wait to see what you do!

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

If you decide to re-join after you have cancelled a subscription and your subscription has finished, log in to your Explore website account. Go to the Profile section and choose the programme you would like to resubscribe to, then fill out your credit card details. This will reactivate your account.

Explore Rangers, for 12 1/2 – 16 year old rangatahi , will be launching in the future. In the mean time, older rangatahi may join a local Unit or our Aotearoa distance option.

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