The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace in Savannah, Georgia welcomes individuals, families, and Girl Scout groups to tour the facility and learn about its rich heritage. Many Girl Scouts who have visited the historical site remark that is a “must-see” for Girl Scouts, young and old alike. Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council sponsors a trip to the Savannah each summer. Girls may register to go on this group trip or elect to go at another time with their troop.
Girls can participate in different programs at the Birthplace. The Girl Scout Heritage Visit is for Junior, Cadette, and Senior Girl Scout groups. Girls can explore their Girl Scout heritage during a full-day, two-part visit. Included are a special-interest session, a slide orientation, and a guided tour of the Birthplace. The visit also allows time for shopping in the museum store and conducting a troop-planned Girl Scouts’ Own and Pinning Ceremony in the garden. Heritage visits are scheduled daily except on Wednesday. The Birthplace assigns a schedule to each Girl Scout troop when it makes a reservation.
There are also general tours open for every age and no reservations are needed unless the group is 10 or more. There is also a self-guide, taped walking tour of Juliette Low’s Savannah Historic Trail. Check the GSUSA Web site for a list of prices.

Special interest sessions

Sisters of the Palette
Daisy Gordon was an accomplished artist. Learn about Daisy and other women artists of her time, and try your hand at her favorite art forms, including sculpting.

Come Into My Parlor
Explore a Victorian girl’s life through popular games, songs, and amusements. Re-enact skits Daisy Gordon and her friends wrote and produced.

Fashion, Fabrics, and Frills (Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts)
Explore fashion history and 19th-century clothing. Corsets, bustles, and hoops were the keys to style and appearance. Investigate how clothing “made the woman” during Daisy’s time.

Rainy Day in 1870 (Junior Girl Scouts)
Dress up in costumes that are authentic reproductions of period clothing and try out activities from Daisy’s childhood, like embroidering a bookmark, making paper dolls, and other crafts. Learn what 10-year-old Daisy Gordon did on a rainy day.

Forward March
Experience the early days of Girl Scouting. Try “setting up exercises” (calisthenics), marching, and Semaphore and Morse code signaling, and see the 1918 Girl Scout film The Golden Eaglet. Create and present costumed skits like the first Girl Scouts.

Pop Goes the Weasel: A Textile Adventure
Like Juliette Gordon Low’s first Girl Guides in Scotland, learn about fibers, and try your hand at weaving. Begin a weaving take-home project.

Victorian Venture (Cadette Girl Scouts)
In Daisy Gordon’s time, many young girls went to finishing school to become accomplished ladies. Experience some of their lessons, such as penmanship, ladies handcrafts, and deportment. End the session with a Victorian tea party.

Victorian Supper Savannah Style (Senior Girl Scouts)
Spend the evening with a Southern meal and a program on 19th-century dining customs. While in costume, girls set a formal table, serve the meal, and clean up afterwards. If time permits, participants play Victorian parlor games.

What you need to know

Before your visit, read the Birthplace Bound Girl Scout troop information booklet carefully for detailed information on the Birthplace and share it with your Girl Scout group. Request a free copy from the Birthplace (limit one request per person).

On October 1, 2004, the Birthplace will start taking 2006 reservations. Weekends, spring break, and June dates fill up quickly. Fall and winter require less advance notice. Call to inquire about the earliest date convenient for your troop.

Visit the Just 4 Girls pages at www.girlscout.org to research the Birthplace and learn about Juliette Gordon Low.
Also, start researching money-earning activities. Many troops are able to fund the entire trip by participating in the Cookie Sale.

12-18 Months Before Your Visit

• Call the Birthplace for tentative reservations.
  
• Send your intent to travel/travel request form to the Council.
  
• Mail your reservation request.
  
• Receive confirmation from the Birthplace.
  
• Write or call the Birthplace for information about interesting sites and activities so you can plan your budget and itinerary.
  
• Write or call for other reservations, including hotel/motel/campsite, tours, museum visits, and restaurants. Get confirmation of the dates, times and fees in writing where applicable.
  
• Check Girl Scout handbooks for program activity links.

3-4 Months Before Your Visit

• Send Girl Scout Heritage Visit fees ($16 per participant) and mail your completed reconfirmation form, with your itinerary and emergency contact information.
  
• Plan a related program; for example, research Savannah, Georgia, and Juliette Gordon Low.
  
• Make community excursions to practice travel logistics and manners.
  
• Contact churches, cemeteries and other public places you wish to visit/attend in the Savannah area and confirm hours and availability.
  
• Order Birthplace T-shirts from the museum store.
  
• Contact your service unit Press Corps member to put a story about your trip in the community newspaper

1 Month Before Your Visit

• Plan your Girl Scouts’ Own and Pinning Ceremony.
  
• Review rules and guidelines for visiting the Birthplace.
  
• Finalize your rooming list for the hotel, parents, and an emergency contact person.
  
• Buy traveler’s checks for expenses and purchases.
  
• Call the Birthplace to reconfirm all your reservations and plans.
  
• Review your packing list, be sure to include appropriate uniform/attire for the trip.

1 Week Before Your Visit

• Check the Savannah weather forecast for your trip dates. Pack everything and have a great trip.