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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
21 posts
Foreground: Rachel Brachman, public engagement specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Background: Holden Crater on Mars. (Background photo via NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) For a full portrait of Rachel Brachman’s passions and proficiencies, don’t look at her LinkedIn. Start with her merit badge counselor registration.
lambada/Getty Images You won’t find this adjective in the Scout Law, but it might as well be sculpted in stone, painted on a wall or embroidered in the finest thread. A Scout is creative . Yes, this means Scouts find unique ways to solve problems, serve others and explore the outdoors.
Update, October 1, 2021: The badge will be known as CItizenship in Society . Release date is expected sometime in November. Requirements are still being formulated. It is expected that counselors will be required to complete the BSA’s Diversity training. Update, January 7, 2021: The BSA has announced a delay in the implementation of the DEI…
You won’t find many Scouts clamoring for summer camp to be more like school. But what if the opposite could be possible? What if school could more closely resemble the high-energy, hands-on fun that makes Scout camp the greatest week of summer?
mediaphotos/Getty Images Maybe your Halloween plans this year include pumpkin decorating, virtual costume contests or other lower-risk ways to celebrate this fun family holiday. Or perhaps you, like me, are just planning a sugar binge until you crash at the crack of 9:30 p.m.
Last summer, more than 120 Scouts met at the Chicagoland Lionel Railroad Club’s clubhouse in New Lenox, Ill., to learn about the world of model trains. The 3,600-square-foot clubhouse features dozens of model trains that run through handcrafted terrain built by club members.
An eight-hour flight to Paris? Even in pre-pandemic times, that seems like a lot of work for a single merit badge requirement. But with the Louvre Museum just a click away, the Art merit badge is within reach during COVID-19.
If you consider Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens and the Marquis de Lafayette to be three of your closest quarantine companions, you aren’t alone. Now that the Broadway musical Hamilton is available to anyone for just $7 (the cost of a month of Disney+), this hip-hop history lesson is gaining an even wider audience.
When Avery Moore isn’t volunteering as Scoutmaster of Troop 11 in Rocky Mount, N.C., you can find him helping out at a local pediatric burn survivor aftercare program. It was during a virtual meeting for the latter that he discovered a need that could be met by the former.
“A Scout is…” Those three words of the Scout Law are just as important as the 12 points that follow. They mean that all Scouts and Scouters strive to exemplify those 12 traits at all times —both tranquil and turbulent.
Submit ideas, art and poems for Friday’s Facebook Live It takes cooperation from all groups and individuals to work together so that we can all get along. Learning to accept people for who they are, no matter what their background, makes good sense for us all.
Imagine getting free art lessons from the most accomplished illustrators from around the country. Maybe you want to ask them questions about their techniques. Maybe you’re looking for tips for your next art project. Maybe you’re bored and just want to draw along with the pros.
Francis Lawrence (top left) met with seven Scouts to teach the Moviemaking merit badge beginning in April. Like other merit badge counselors, Francis Lawrence brings passion, expertise and professional experience to this important volunteer role. It just so happens that Lawrence’s experience is as an accomplished Hollywood director.
Scouts are resourceful. So, while your troop may not be able to go on a weekend campout together during the COVID-19 pandemic, this time could be ideal to learn how to play a new game or work on the car or prepare a first aid kit for the family.
Daniel Free earned the Eagle Scout rank in 2017. At the time, the 15-year-old of Troop 489 in Germantown, Md., had earned 54 merit badges. But he didn’t stop there. The night of his court of honor, he made it a goal to earn all 137 available merit badges by his 18th birthday.
A Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary rescue worker holds an injured bald eagle that Scouts spotted. In these uncertain times as the country takes precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we know this is certain: Scouts will continue to help wherever and whenever they can.
So, you’re spending a little more time around the house than normal, but many of you are continuing your Scouting adventures, including making great progress on your merit badge work. Bryan pulled together a list of merit badges that can be worked on from home or your backyard, and, while it might not be possible…
New Merit Badge for Scouts
In times of crisis, Scouts find a way to adapt. We’re hearing from Scouts and leaders across the country who have found creative ways to keep on Scouting even while practicing social distancing (staying home and remaining at least 6 feet from others if you must go out).
Robots are everywhere. Car manufacturers use them on the assembly line. Doctors use them to perform intricate surgeries. You might have one to vacuum your house. Scouts with Troop 125 of Dallas, Texas, recently saw how robotics help Dr. Elizabeth Coronado, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Medical City Plano hospital.
I have just three words: Camping. Is. Back. After staking out a spot in seventh or eighth place in popularity from 2014 to 2018, the Eagle-required Camping merit badge jumped to third place in the 2019 rankings, released this month.
