Follow these links for further reading and learn more about the life and times of our founder.
Founder’s Day
Founder’s Day
Let’s Celebrate a Visionary’s Birthday!
Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, was born on October 31, 1860. In 1920, her birthday became officially known as Girl Scout Founder’s Day, and was celebrated with a recruitment campaign to sign up new Girl Scout members. Traditional activities to celebrate Founder’s Day include singing songs, performing skits, making crafts, playing games, or having a birthday or tea party.
Juliette, affectionately known as “Daisy” by her family and close friends, gathered 18 girls in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, to share what she had learned abroad about a new outdoor and educational program for youth, and with this, the Girl Scout Movement was born. Along with Juliette, these first Girl Scouts blazed trails and redefined what was possible for themselves and for girls everywhere.
They played basketball. They hiked, swam, and went camping. They learned to read the world around them — for instance, by studying a foreign language and telling time by the stars. They shared a sense of curiosity and a belief that they could do anything. But most importantly, just like Girl Scouts across the country and around the globe today, they offered a helping hand to those in need and worked together to improve their corner of the world.
We hope you will take time to learn more about Juliette and plan to do something special in her honor — like earning a kindness patch or lending a helping hand to someone. Check out the links and resources below for ways you can celebrate, on Founder’s Day and every day!
Stand on Your Head
Daisy stood on her head every year on her birthday, just to prove she could still do it!
Throw a Tea Party
Juliette lived in England for many years and loved tea. (Have some birthday cake, too!)
Make a Daisy SWAP
Use Juliette-inspired items (pearls, daisies, etc.) to make a special Founder’s Day SWAP.
All About Juliette Gordon Low 
Flat Juliette
Travel with Flat Juliette
Going to the park, the museum or on a camping trip? Print, color and cut out your Flat Juliette so she can go with you! Be sure to include her in photos of your adventures, then tag us on social media @girlscoutscolonialcoast or send your pictures to marcomm@gsccc.org.
Flat Juliette Pen Pals
Print, color and cut out your Flat Juliette, then mail her to a girl in another troop. (Maybe someone you met at summer camp, or through a virtual event.) Ask that girl to take a photo with Flat Juliette and then mail her to someone else. See how far she can go! Try keeping a journal or scrapbook of her travels.
Flip the Pancake
Play a game of Flip the Pancake like Juliette would have done! (This was a common game when Juliette was alive.)
The rules are simple – see how many times you can flip a pancake in a row without it falling. Each participant would need a small pan or plate and an overly cooked pancake or slice of bread. Everyone places a pancake on their pan/plate and then, on the count of three, they gently flip the pancake with a light toss up into the air and try to catch it again in their pan/plate.
The “Daisy” Low Game for Girl Scout Daisies
The “Daisy” Low Game for Girl Scout Brownies and Juniors
Kim’s Game: Juliette Low Edition
Kim’s Game is a traditional Girl Scout game based on the book “Kim” by Rudyard Kipling. Items are arranged on a table or tray and covered with a cloth. The cloth is lifted and players have 30 seconds to study them closely before they are covered again. Players then need to list as many items as they can remember.
For this edition, all items are related to the life of Juliette Low. Pick items and descriptions from the list of fun facts below to build your game. (Don't have access to any of these kinds of items? Use this photo instead.)
- Juliette was born on October 31, 1860 — Halloween! (pumpkin)
- Juliette was born in Savannah, Georgia. (Georgia map)
- Her uncle took one look at her and said, “She looks like a Daisy” — this nickname stuck with her for the rest of her life. (daisies)
- Daisy was an excellent swimmer and at the age of 8 rescued a boy who had fallen in the water. (Life Saver candy or swim goggles)
- At age 13 Daisy left home to go to boarding school where she liked art and reading; she was awful in spelling and math. She loved to draw and paint pictures so much that she created a children’s magazine with all of the articles and pictures done by children. (crayon, art supplies)
- Daisy attended boarding school at Virginia Female Institute (now Stuart Hall School) in Staunton, Virginia and other schools in Virginia and New Jersey. She later attended Mlles. Charbonniers, a French finishing school in New York City. While at boarding school, Juliette learned French. She used to write letters home to her parents in French. (photo of Stuart Hall School, or the Eiffel Tower or other French symbol)
- Daisy loved animals, especially dogs and mockingbirds, and two of her favorites were a horse named Fire and a parrot named Polly Poons. She would bring home stray cats and dogs which she nursed back to health. (toy horse, dog or parrot)
- As a girl at home and school she loved to start clubs. The first club she started was called The Helpful Hands, a sewing club to help the weak and unfortunate, but she couldn't sew very well, so her brothers named the club The Helpless Hands. (sewing kit)
- Another one of Juliette’s nicknames was “Little Ship” which she got while living with her grandparents in Chicago during the Civil War. Juliette’s great-grandmother was captured by Native Americans and was called “Little-Ship-Under-Full-Sail”. She was the adopted daughter of the Seneca chief Cornplanter in the years she dwelt with the tribe, but he later granted her request to be returned to her parents. The shorter version of the nickname was bestowed on young Juliette. (toy or photo of a ship)
- Juliette loved fishing, in fact she would go out with the men after a formal dinner. It was not unusual for her to go fishing in her evening dress. (rubber worm or fishing lure)
- She and her girls loved the stories she used to tell around the campfire. She also loved to read. (book of ghost stories)
- Juliette could sometimes be found cleaning the house in her evening wear. (white glove)
- Juliette was friends with Rudyard Kipling. (The Jungle Book, Kim, or other work by Kipling)
- Juliette forged the iron gates at the “Birthplace” in Savannah, Georgia with her own hands. Because of this heavy, demanding iron work, the muscles in her arms got very large. She had trouble making her evening dresses fit over the muscles! (iron bar or dumbell)
- She was married to William Mackay Low (“Willie”) on December 21, 1886, which happened to be her parents’ 29th wedding anniversary. (wedding ring)
- Some of the rice thrown at Juliette’s wedding became lodged in her left ear, causing her to become deaf in that ear. (bag of rice)
- Juliette and Willie both loved adventure, so together they decided to move to England. (teapot, cup and saucer, or teabag)
- After Willie passed away, Juliette met Lord & Lady Baden-Powell. She very much enjoyed what they had done with the Boy Scout movement, and got involved with the Girl Guides there. (a Girl Guide or Boy Scout item)
- Juliette returned to Georgia and made the famous phone call which was heard around the United States: “Come right over. I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, and all America, and all the world, and we’re going to start it to-night.” (telephone)
- Girl Scouting in the USA was born on March 12, 1912 and continues today with over 2 million members. (Girl Scout membership pin)
- Juliette Low was 52 years old when she started Girl Scouts in the United States. Troop #1 had 18 girls. (the numbers 52 and/or 18, on blocks, paper, or as cake candles)
- Unusual for a time when exercise was regarded as quite possibly deleterious to a growing girl's health, the girls in Juliette’s first troop played basketball and tennis — behind heavy curtains to protect their privacy, as they often played in their bloomers! (basketball, tennis ball or raquet)
- In 1914, Juliette sold her strand of rare matched pearls to pay the rent for the national Girl Scout office. She said, “Jewels are not important, but my Girl Scouts are, they need money more than I need pearls.” (pearls)
- Juliette would trim her hat with carrots and parsley to go to fashionable luncheons. “Oh, is my trimming sad?” she would ask as the vegetables drooped. “I can't afford to have this hat done over — I have to save all my money for my Girl Scouts. You know about the Scouts, don't you?” That was one way of fundraising! (vegetables and/or a fancy hat)
- The first Girl Scout Handbook had instructions on how to tie up a burglar with only 8 inches of rope. (rope)
- Juliette Low died of breast cancer on January 18, 1927 and was buried in her Girl Scout uniform. (breast cancer ribbon)
- During World War II, there was a liberty ship named in her honor, the S.S. Juliette Low. (photo of battleship)
- The United States Mint will put a new quarter design featuring Juliette into circulation in 2025 as part of the American Women Quarters™ Program. (quarter)
Halloween Message from Juliette
In the spirit of the other event celebrated today, here is a special Halloween message from Juliette, originally penned in 1924, as it appeared in the 1933 edition of the Girl Scout Handbook.
