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From Basketry to Robotics, merit badges are where Scouts meet the wider world. These posts share counselor tips, workbook debates, new badge announcements and the stories behind favorite badges.
637 posts · 2007–2020
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If you know a Boy Scout with a coin collection, have him look at the requirements for the Coin Collecting merit badge. [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
Boy Scouts can improve their financial literacy and time management skills when they earn the Personal Management merit badge. This badge is required for the rank of Eagle. [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
Boy Scouts love building fires. They can learn how to be safe around planned and unplanned fires by earning the Fire Safety merit badge. [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
As my son's worked to earn their genealogy Merit Badge they learned a lot about our family and as politically incorrect as it sounds, Our People. My dad has become a real student of our family history, he has spent the better part of 2 decades researching, studying, and collecting information on our family and…
Want to spark some passion in your Scouts? Tell them about Welding, the next new merit badge from the Boy Scouts of America. When it debuts in the next month or two, it will become the BSA's 128th current merit badge, joining fellow newcomer Chess , which made its move onto the list during the summer.
Boy Scouts will make their own short movie when working on the requirements for the Cinematography merit badge. [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
Working on the Citizenship in the Community merit badge helps Boy Scouts understand their role in their local community. The Citizenship in the Community merit badge is required for the rank of Eagle Scout. [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
One of the things that makes the Boy Scout program different from many youth programs is that the boys plan their own program. The junior leadership of a troop meets once a year to plan themes, activities, and dates for the next twelve months.
New Merit Badge for Boy Scouts
If so, does the Scout still need a buddy or can they work on it alone together?
Our troop probably earns an unusual number of the Nuclear Science merit badges because my husband is a counselor. So that is a chance for our Scouts to learn about this topic from somebody who works with this material every day in his job.
Just a few weeks away and I’ve agreed to teach any of the three Merit Badges that I’m a counselor for. So… time to get prepped. This past weekend while attending the Chief Seattle Council’s Program and Training Conference (PTC), I sat in on the Merit Badge Counselor session.
The new Chess merit badge for Boy Scouts was just launched a few weeks ago. DS is especially excited about this badge. He has always loved chess.
Communications merit badge is one of the Boy Scout merit badges which is required for the rank of Eagle. Unlike many of the Eagle required badges, this one really lends itself to being worked on in a group meeting setting. So this is one that could be the basis for a series of troop meetings.
LC and DS recently completed the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge. They seemed to enjoy this one more than some of the other Eagle required badges. We had taken a trip to Washington DC in the past year, so they had a chance to use some of the places we visited there to help…
The Animal Science merit badge is all about farm animals. We live in the suburbs, so this one isn't even on the radar for the Scouts in our troop. But if you have Scouts from a rural area or if somebody who has a relative on a farm, this might be of interest to them.
Help the BSA celebrate its newest merit badge -Chess!-tomorrow by watching fellow Scouts in a live, human chess match. The event, shown online at this link , will take place between 1:05-1:25 p.m. CST on Saturday, Sept. 10. Scouts will serve as pieces, challenging one another as they move across the gigantic chess board at The…
The Boy Scouts of America has a new merit badge. Chess anyone? That is correct. You may now earn the Chess Merit Badge. According to the B.S.A. Supply Line, "The USCF (United States Chess Federation) provided the primary contributing writers for the Merit Badge pamphlet.
The requirements for the chess merit badge are available on scouting.org and HERE . Scouts get to use EDGE to teach other scouts Chess skills. I especially like requirement #5c where the board is set up and the scout needs to demonstrate how to force checkmate.
The American Business merit badge can help Scouts understand the history of business in the United States and practical aspects of modern business. If you have a budding entrepreneur in your troop who runs his own lawn care service or summer snow cone stand, then this is the badge for him.
The official launch of the Chess merit badge is Sept. 10! Several special appearances and activities have been planned for the launch event in St. Louis , including a visit by Eagle Scout and NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff , a human chess match with Scouts acting as the pieces on a giant board, and possibly an appearance…
We haven't had anyone earn this badge in recent memory. The Scouts in our troop always earn the Swimming merit badge their first year at summer camp. The troop does go out riding occasionally, especially on Grant's Trail which is very close to us.
The Emergency Preparedness merit badge is one of the most useful badges a Boy Scout can earn. You hope you will never need to use the information you learn, but if you do find yourself in an emergency situation, you can make a difference. This badge is all about being prepared for the unexpected.
The countdown has begun for the launch of the BSA's newest merit badge, Chess. While the kickoff event will take place at the grand opening of the new Chess Hall of Fame on September 10, other key milestones for the launch of this new badge include: Chess merit badge requirements will be posted on scouting.org…
Since the introduction of the new Robotics merit badge , Scouts from across the country have built some pretty cool robots. Some have created unique tasks for their robots to perform while others, like Nathan, are completing events in pre-existing robotics competitions.
I recently spent a week at Swift Base at S bar F Scout Ranch with our Boy Scout troop. Swift is normally a Venturing camp, so when they do a week for Boy Scouts, the only merit badges offered by the staff are Canoeing, Swimming, Lifesaving, Rowing, Water Sports, Small Boat Sailing, Climbing, Horsemanship, Rifle…
The BSA's newest merit badge, Chess, will be launched in September with some exciting events designed to raise interest and awareness. The kickoff event will take place at the grand opening of the new Chess Hall of Fame on Sept.
LC earned this last summer. Even though he was a first year Scout, they let him do it because it was our second summer camp for the summer and he had completed Swimming merit badge at the first camp. LC is a good swimmer but is small.
Archery is another favorite merit badge for Boy Scout summer camp. DS earned this one a couple of years ago. When the guys sign up for this, they think it will be all shooting, but there is really a lot more to it than that.
Fishing merit badge is a fun one for Boy Scout summer camp. Of the eleven Scouts who went to camp from our troop a couple of weeks ago, seven did this badge. My favorite part when I am with Scouts working on this badge - watching them cook the fish.
LC was at camp with our Boy Scout troop last week. One of the merit badges he finished there was the Environmental Science merit badge. He had to work on it two sessions every day, but he was glad to get it finished.Most of our Scouts do this one at camp.
What can happen when creative people take on Scouting's inspiring message? Let me put together the pieces for you. But first, you must check out this video. Like the 3,000 people who watched it in its first week online, you'll see how the world's largest merit badge mosaic took shape.
Using 12,060 merit badges over the course of three days, the Northern Star Council assembled what may be the world's largest mosaic made entirely of merit badges. The finished piece, which measures more than 19 feet by 13 feet, displays an image of a Scout and the phrase, "It's Bigger Than Badges."
Looking for a way to get your Scouts excited about Robotics merit badge? Just look up. Way up. Scouts who earn the Robotics merit badge between April 12 and Sept. 30, 2011 , can enter to win a special Robotics merit badge and NASA prize package.
Scouting News brought you information about the sold out Graphic Arts Merit Badge Day at the International Printing Museum last month. Check out this recap! On Saturday, May 7th the day before Mother's day, eighty-eight Boy Scouts earned their graphic arts merit badge and pulp and paper merit badge at the International Printing Museum in…
Day 75: Two crews preparing for Philmont in June had their first 10-mile hike this morning. I don't get to do Philmont this year because there's a surplus of dads wanting to go, but I get to join them on the hikes since I'm the Hiking merit badge counselor.
Insect Study Merit Badge Typical Wednesday. Plenty of Scouting to do and never enough time to get it done. One fun tidbit today: my quote was prominently displayed on the Scouting magazine blog. Also, forgot to mention yesterday that I have gotten one part of my Wood Badge ticket off and running.
When people think of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), they envision activities like camping, knot-tying, and canoeing, but soon, they'll need to add robot-building to that list. Scouts in 2011, through the introduction of the Robotics merit badge, now have the opportunity to design, build, and demonstrate a robot of their own creation.
Indian Lore Merit Badge Today is a great day. Even though it is raining, it is still a bright day--because the Robotics merit badge was launched. I'm excited that this merit badge is out--combined with the Inventing released last year, and the quietly mentioned Game Design coming out in the next 18 months, I'm not…
The Newest Merit Badge: Robotics An important part of a Boy Scout's journey, merit badges have been around for over a 100 years. The scouting handbook says "A merit badge is an invitation to explore an exciting subject. With more than a hundred to choose from, some merit badges encourage you to increase your skill…
In this Podcast: Do volunteers have a role in protecting and maintaining the quality of advancement work? This week we answer a question about merit badge applications that raise concerns over the quality of the work done to earn them. Links in this Podcast: Subscribe to the Scoutmaster Newsletter Podcast Music null
The age of robots in the Boy Scouts of America has begun. No, the BSA isn't planning to replace Scoutmasters with androids. At least not that I've heard of. I'm referring to today's launch of the Robotics merit badge. It's the latest example of how Scouting embraces the interests of modern boys while preparing them…
What do the Boy Scouts of America, the graphic arts and pulp and paper have in common? Answer: A Merit Badge Day hosted at the International Printing Museum. More than 100 Boy Scouts signed up within 24 hours of an announcement that the International Printing Museum was going to host a Merit Badge Day on…
Forestry Merit Badge Up early today, and headed off to find a Scouting Heritage merit badge class being sponsored by our council. I'm excited about this merit badge--I think it is great to give Scouts the opportunity to learn about why we do what we do.
I'm sure you heard by now that the Robotics merit badge comes out this month. But, in a more subdued release, I saw that the Hunting merit badge is available TODAY at our local Scout Shop. I really like the badge design and I think the scouts that have already done Shotgun and Rifle will…
Assistant Scoutmaster Michael from Troop 2000 in Brockton Mass. asks: Can Scouts use power tools? I'm confused because I've been told they can't yet the BSA guidelines say they can. My other problem is that these guidelines are completely void of any specific information as to which tools are allowed and which ones are not.
Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. He was born on March 2nd in 1904. It is also the National Education Association's Read Across America Day. So today I am promoting the Reading merit badge.
When I was a Boy Scout in the 1970′s there was no such thing as a home video recorder, so there was not a Cinematography Merit Badge. There was the Photography Merit Badge, however. I like taking pictures so I thought I would try earning that badge.
After working together for nearly a century to provide Scouts with the ability to learn radio communication skills, the Boy Scouts of America and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)-the national association for amateur radio-have officially teamed up after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
In an effort to learn something new every day I have been a quest to learn more about some merit badges. I have a sash that belonged to my Father in Law. The merit badges are mostly Type D and E merit badges, so they range from 1942 to 1960.
