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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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Spending time with your Scouts on C.O.P.E courses is a wonderful experience. Scouts are challenged to step away from what they know is comfortable. The team building exercises and challenging tasks push Scouts to push themselves, not only for the sake of pushing themselves, but for the sake of the team.
Imagine, if you will, a "welding extravaganza." That's how the Heart of America Council recently cooked up the rollout of the BSA's Welding merit badge, with 24 Scouts becoming the first in the country to earn this award. I was in Kansas City recently to speak at the Mayor's Annual Prayer Breakfast, and had the…
I recevied this question recently via the website contact form. The email address given did not work so I am publishing the question and answer here. -Clarke I'm a assistant scoutmaster and was recently contacted by a dad of a scout that after one year is still at Scout rank.
Today (Feb 24, 2012) is the first day Boy Scouts can start earning the new Welding merit badge. Opportunities in the welding field are endless, and Scouts earning their Welding merit badge can not only explore the fundamentals of welding, but also learn about the different career paths within the...
Boy Scouts who are interested in conservation and tree identification will enjoy earning the Forestry merit badge. [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
Either the Cycling merit badge OR the Hiking merit badge OR the Swimming merit badge is required for the rank of Eagle Scout. Boy Scouts who earn more than one of these badges may count the additional badges as electives.
Day 4 Spent today doing some investing of time into our pack and troop. Sent out the list of requirements to the den leaders and den chiefs for the Den Chief Service Award . I think most of them have either earned it or are really close.
The wait is nearly over! Your Scouts can begin working on the BSA's newest merit badge-Welding-on Feb. 24. And, the new merit badge pamphlets are on their way to Scout shops as we speak. The merit badge, which was created through collaboration with the American Welding Society (AWS), the BSA Health and Safety Committee, and…
Geocaching is one of the newer merit badges offered to Boy Scouts. It was added in 2010. Geocaching is becoming more and more popular across the country, so this badge gives Scouts a way to learn about it. [ This is a content summary only.
Our district is holding its annual merit badge pow-wow in March and I've been handing out registration forms for the last couple weeks. One boy, a Life scout, asked me if it would they would let him sign up for three required merit badges (the pow-wow rules say a max of two).
Hot news: Welding merit badge is almost here! As I told you in November , the BSA turned to the American Welding Society to help create a new merit badge that will teach Scouts about a real-world field where demand for workers exceeds supply.
What were the hottest merit badges last year? I've got the answer. Maybe. So first, a caveat: The friendly folks at the Supply Division tell me there's no way to determine exact numbers of merit badges earned. That info is tracked by troops - not the National Council.
Our Boy Scout troop is planning a campout in the spring based on the Cooking merit badge. I am a counselor for this badge, so I am working with the youth campmaster to help him plan the activities. [ This is a content summary only.
The merit badge program of the Boy Scouts of America is a wonderful way to introduce boys to new hobbies, sports, crafts, and even possible careers. The awards require a Boy Scout to meet new people in the community who are the merit badge counselors.
The Citizenship in the World merit badge is required for Boy Scouts to earn the rank of Eagle Scout [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
Boy Scouts who want to make an extra nice poster to promote their Student Council candidate or club event should look at the Graphics Arts merit badge. [ This is a content summary only. Click on the article title for full links, other content, and more! ]
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.
