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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
Showing 1–50 of 65 posts
So on just about this day, 23 years ago, I earned the Communications Merit Badge, one of the last ones I needed for Eagle. Back then, I probably had no idea how important communication realy is in our daily lives.
Merit badges represent days, weeks or even months of work by Scouts. But what isn't always clear is what the art on the merit badges themselves represents.
FAQs about merit badge counselors: Is there a limit to the number of merit badges an individual may counsel? Can someone counsel his own family member?
Merit Badge Maintenance Task Force member Steve Bowen reveals facts about merit badges you probably didn't know in the November 2014 ScoutCast.
Comedian Steve Harvey honored a new Eagle Scout and accepted an honorary Moviemaking merit badge on his daytime talk show last week.
Fulfilling the vision of the BSA to prepare scouts as responsible, participating citizens and leaders is a real challenge. A responsible citizen can take care of himself, his property, and his family. Very few of the boys I've met in Scouting came with a built-in sense of responsibility and none have had an innate ability…
The simple answer: There is no time limit for completing a merit badge except for the Scout's 18th birthday.
Selected merit badge pamphlets, leader materials and the Fieldbook are now available on Kindle devices or via the Kindle app on phones and tablets.
A merit badge sash is never worn on the belt." So why does the latest issue of Scouting magazine show Scouts doing just that?
RT @BSALicensing: Infographic: More than 17mm Merit Badges awarded in preparedness since 1911. #beprepared http://t.co/eTP5ua3XpV : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
It's up to the merit badge counselor, not the Scoutmaster, to determine whether to accept a requirement fulfilled before the blue card was issued.
You're bound to be approached by a Scout wanting to earn one for which you aren't qualified to be a merit badge counselor. Your next move is important.
RT @scouting: Have an idea for a new merit badge? Here's how to submit it. http://t.co/MdFVvFDCkT : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
Time for a few more answers to your questions, this time about Social Security numbers on adult applications, the criminal background check and how to become a merit badge counselor. I don't like giving out my Social Security number. Why is it required on an adult application?
Missouri Boy Scout Earns 140 Merit Badges http://t.co/ph2jqzF6TG : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
Austin Van Black, from Troop 374 in Liberty, Missouri , has earned 140 merit badges. That's one busy Boy Scout. His final badge was Backpacking , which he completed by camping out overnight in a city park. "To my peers, I don't think they fully understand," Austin told The Kansas City Star newspaper.
The Boy Scouts have come home. About an hour and a half ago the ten Boy Scouts and two adult leaders of Melrose Troop 68 arrived home from spending the week at Many Point Scout Camp in northwest Minnesota. From the few minutes I was able to talk to them I discovered they had a…
Which retired merit badge would you want to earn? http://t.co/5Br4Kb2HXq : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
BSA apparently released a new set of requirements for the Canoeing Merit Badge about a month ago. The new requirements were posted on scouting.org, and are now also posted on usscouts.org, and meritbadge.org. I've also updated and uploaded a new version of the workbook to both usscouts.org and meritbadge.org.
What's your favorite new merit badge? Vote today! http://t.co/SNKmRfZil0 : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
All the merit-badge information you'd ever need. Right here: http://t.co/NE8AUVJ4Mt : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
Which retired merit badge would you want to earn? http://t.co/a7tGeg7CtV : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
Which retired merit badge would you want to earn? http://t.co/AX6QLLKDHe : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
What's your favorite new merit badge? http://t.co/lAeetm8Mj3 : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
ICYMI: Changes to the Swimming merit badge http://t.co/r06mfd9PQp : via Twitter http://ift.tt/1714avm
At just 32 years old, Andrew Miller has already built a Scouting résumé that rivals some of the movement's most tenured Scouters. He helped develop a Merit Badge University at Harvard, wrote the syllabus for a first-year camper program, served at the region level on the NESA scholarship committee and at the national level on…
New Merit Badge for Boy Scouts
Avid readers of this blog have been hearing about changes to Cooking merit badge since October 2012 . But new Scouters or new blog readers might not know about the exciting, important changes to this now-Eagle-required merit badge. The basic facts are these: Cooking merit badge became required to earn the Eagle Scout Award on Jan.
Swimming merit badge, that Eagle-required summer camp staple, has been upgraded and revised just in time for the 2014 summer camp season. The new requirements focus more on teaching Scouts correct stroke mechanics while continuing to emphasize basic water skills.
BSA provides the troop program feature guides as a resource for Boy Scout troops. A PLC can use these guides to plan a series of meetings and outings around a single theme. My post Troop Program Features for Meetings and Outings has more information about these guides.
Digital technology is part of almost everything we do these days. The new Digital Technology merit badge, launched in April, is all about using, understanding, and appreciating digital technology including computers, tablets, cell phones, and even computer-controlled coffeemakers. Scouts will also learn about digital technology rights and how to be environmentally friendly with digital technology.
Not content at the 21 merit badges required for Eagle, some Scouts go beyond and earn additional merit badges, making them eligible to receive Eagle Scout palms. An Eagle Scout who earns five merit badges beyond the minimum amount (and meets other requirements ) will receive a Bronze Palm.
BSA provides the troop program feature guides as a resource for Boy Scout troops. A PLC can use these guides to plan a series of meetings and outings around a single theme. My post Troop Program Features for Meetings and Outings has more information about these guides.
No, a swarm of killer bees aren't to blame for the Beekeeping merit badge's 1995 demise. The real culprit carries a similarly painful sting, though: a lack of interest and too few merit badge counselors. As this Utah National Parks Council blog post points out, only 60 badges were earned during the last year Beekeeping…
Scouts today are familiar with many types of digital technology – the Internet, smart phones, tablets, computers. The Digital Technology merit badge teaches Boy Scouts how to use technology safely and responsibly. Technology has come a long way since Computers merit badge was first introduced in 1967.
The launch of the Mining in Society Merit Badge was a grand success! Now it is the responsibility of Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) members and others knowledgeable about the mining industry to promote the badge and to become Mining in Society Merit Badge Counselors.
The latest and greatest in tech isn't a new smartphone, tablet or game console. It's a new merit badge. Today the Boy Scouts of America welcomes Digital Technology merit badge to its ever-growing arsenal of merit badges focused on careers, hobbies and activities Scouts enjoy doing.
Steve sent in this question about Eagle palms : In terms of earning Palms. Do MB's earned before getting Eagle count towards Palms? The wording on the BSA site is unclear to me. My oldest will be 15 in July and has to be in his PL position for about 4 months to be able to…
If you have a Scout working on Scouting Heritage merit badge Requirement 4, Joe Connole's your guy. The programs coordinator and lead admissions clerk for the BSA's National Scouting Museum in Irving, Tex., is in charge of answering letters and emails from Scouts working on that merit badge.
I've had several requests lately for a newer version of the merit badge check off list, updated with the newest badges. So I've redone the list as a Google spreadsheet. This will make it easier to keep updated. The spreadsheet could be used by a scribe to keep track of which Scouts have earned which…
BSA has a set of troop programs which can help PLCs plan activities around a theme. This business program feature offers the opportunity to plan a month's worth of troop activities with business theme. The plans for the Business troop program feature can be found in Volume 1 of Troop Program Features from BSA: In…
To borrow a phrase from a certain smartphone maker: The next big thing is almost here. Digital Technology merit badge, set to debut in mid-April 2014, will guide Scouts through the exciting, complex, ever-changing world of smartphone apps, computer software and tech-focused careers.
New Merit Badge for Boy Scouts
A merit badge sash is like a trophy case you can wear. Each tiny circle represents one of the 136 interest areas a Boy Scout has conquered. But what restrictions are placed on merit badge sashes? In what order should they be sewn on?
Mining in Society merit badge counselors, here's your chance to sharpen your skills before teaching the BSA's newest merit badge to Scouts. The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) will offer two free webinars for Mining in Society merit badge counselors.
CS2N, or Computer Science Student Network, has partnered with the BSA to offer free training and resources specifically for Scouts earning the Robotics merit badge . Scouts can download a 60-day copy of the Robot Virtual World Software to complete the Robotics merit badge.
The Sustainability merit badge was added as a new merit badge in the summer of 2013. This badge focuses on lifestyle adaptations which use our planet's natural resources more wisely. Either Sustainability merit badge or Environmental Science merit badge is required for the rank of Eagle.
New Merit Badge for Boy Scouts
The other night I held a couple Scoutmaster Conferences, both for Scouts earning the Star Rank and both of the Scouts good young men. During our discussion the subject of merit badges came up as you need them for the Star, Life, and Eagle ranks.
We use the materials obtained by mining everyday. We find them in the pots and pans we use to cook breakfast, the toothpaste we put on our toothbrushes, the pencils we write with, our electronic devices, our automobiles, and all throughout our homes.
