Merit badges
merit badge Prerequisites can be found on this page.
AMERICAN BUSINESS
No Prerequisites
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About
Earning the American Business merit badge can help Scouts learn practical business matters that will be useful throughout life. Learning how businesses function will help you understand society and uncover a number of career options.
ARCHITECTURE*
*Prerequisites
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#5 – Find out about three career opportunities in architecture. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you
About
Architecture is not just the special buildings like cathedrals, museums, or sports stadiums we read about or see on television; it is as normal as the homes, places of worship, schools, and shopping malls where we live, worship, work, learn, and play every day. However, architecture is more than just common shelter; building has always satisfied the human need to create something of meaning. Even the simplest form of architecture is a work of art that requires thought and planning.
The Architecture merit badge was one of the original 57 merit badges issued by the Boy Scouts of America in 1911.
AUTOMOTIVE MAINTENANCE
Prerequisites
Must be 15 years or older
About
Modern automobiles are important to many aspects of American life. Those who service automobiles must understand each principle, and how these principles interact to provide smooth, efficient performance. Owners of cars also benefit by understanding how their vehicles operate. This enables them to understand why certain periodic maintenance is required to keep their vehicles in tip-top shape.
AVIATION
No Prerequisites
About
For most of history, people have dreamed of flying, imagining how it would feel to soar through the sky like an eagle or hover in midair like a hummingbird, to float on unseen currents, free of Earth’s constant tug, able to travel great distances and to rise above any obstacle. Today, through aviation, we can not only join the birds but also fly farther, faster, and higher than they ever could.
CHESS*
*Prerequisites
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#3 (can be completed after the MBU) – Demonstrate to your counselor that you know each of the following. Then, using Scouting’s Teaching EDGE*, teach someone (preferably another Scout) who does not know how to play chess:
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The name of each chess piece
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How to set up a chessboard
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How each chess piece moves, including castling and en passant captures
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About
The USCF (United States Chess Federation) provided the primary contributing writers for the Merit Badge pamphlet. They will be helping to promote the badge through communications with the Chess delegate teams (similar to BSA’s National Committees and Boards) and e-mail blasts, plus website and “tournament news” announcements.
COIN COLLECTING
No Prerequisites
About
Coin collecting is one of the oldest of all hobbies. Hoards of ancient coins found in excavations indicate that coins were one of the first collectibles. From earliest times, people valued coins not only as a means of trading and storing wealth, but also as miniature works of art.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
No Prerequisites
About
Composites can be found just about everywhere: in airplanes and sports cars, golf clubs and guitars, boats and baseball bats, bathtubs and circuit boards, and even bridges. Composites make bicycles and skis lighter, kayaks and canoes stronger, houses warmer, and helmets tougher.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
No Prerequisites
About
Technology has come a long way since Computers merit badge was first introduced in 1967. This badge will teach Scouts about technology in the digital age.
ELECTRICITY
Prerequisites
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#2 – Complete an electrical home safety inspection of your home, using the checklist found in the Electricity merit badge pamphlet or one approved by your counselor. Discuss what you find with your counselor.
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#8 – Make a floor plan wiring diagram of the lights, switches, and outlets for a room in your home. Show which fuse or circuit breaker protects each one.
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#9a – Read an electric meter and, using your family’s electric bill, determine the energy cost from the meter readings
About
Electricity is a powerful and fascinating force of nature. As early as 600 BC, observers of the physical world suspected that electricity existed but did not have a name for it. In fact, real progress in unraveling the mystery of electricity has come only within the last 250 years.
The Electricity merit badge was one of the original 57 merit badges issued by the Boy Scouts of America in 1911. It replaced the 1910 Electrician “Badge of Merit.”
ELECTRONICS
No Prerequisites
Electronics is the science that controls the behavior of electrons so that some type of useful function is performed. Today, electronics is a fast-changing and exciting field.
ENGINEERING
Prerequisites
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#4 – Visit with an engineer (who may be your counselor or parent) and do the following:
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Discuss the work this engineer does and the tools the engineer uses.
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Discuss with the engineer a current project and the engineer’s particular role in it.
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Find out how the engineer’s work is done and how results are achieved.
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Ask to see the reports that the engineer writes concerning the project.
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Discuss with your counselor what you learned about engineering from this visit.
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About
Engineers use both science and technology to turn ideas into reality, devising all sorts of things, ranging from a tiny, low-cost battery for your cell phone to a gigantic dam across the mighty Yangtze River in China.
FIRST AID
No Prerequisites
About
First aid — caring for injured or ill persons until they can receive professional medical care — is an important skill for every Scout. With some knowledge of first aid, a Scout can provide immediate care and help to someone who is hurt or who becomes ill. First aid can help prevent infection and serious loss of blood. It could even save a limb or a life.
The First Aid merit badge was one of the original 57 merit badges issued by the Boy Scouts of America in 1911. It replaced the 1910 Ambulance “Badge of Merit”.
First Aid merit badge is an option for the National Outdoor Badge for Camping.
GEOLOGY and MINING IN SOCIETY
No Prerequisites
About
Geology is the study of Earth. It includes the study of materials that make up Earth, the processes that change it, and the history of how things happened, including human civilization, which depends on natural materials for existence.
Geology is one of the elective merit badges for the William T. Hornaday awards for Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts.
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LAW
Prerequisites
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#4 – Ask five people (not more than one from your immediate family) about the role of law enforcement officers in our society. Discuss their answers with them. Go to a law enforcement officer in your neighborhood and ask about his or her responsibilities and duties. Report your findings.
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#7 – Arrange a visit with a lawyer who works for a business, bank, title company, or government agency. Find out his or her duties and responsibilities. Report what you have learned.
About
Earning this merit badge enables a Scout to learn about the history and kinds of laws, the purpose and methods of law enforcement, consumer protection agencies, emerging law, and careers in the legal profession.
METAL WORK
Prerequisites
Scouts must wear proper attire. Long sleeves, long pants made of 100 percent natural materials like cotton, wool, or denim. No polyester as if it gets hot it will melt to skin. Shoes must be leather.
About
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MODEL DESIGN & BUILDING
Prerequisites
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Scouts enrolled in this merit badge must be able to use X-Acto knives and straight pins safely.
About
Model making, the art of creating copies of objects that are either smaller or larger than the objects they represent, is not only an enjoyable and educational hobby: it is widely used in the professional world for such things as creating special effects for movies, developing plans for buildings, and designing automobiles and airplanes.
MUSIC
No Prerequisites
About
The history of music is rich and exciting. Through the ages, new music has been created by people who learned from tradition, then explored and innovated. All the great music has not yet been written. Today, the possibilities for creating new music are limitless.
The Music merit badge was one of the original 57 merit badges issued by the Boy Scouts of America in 1911. It replaced the 1910 Musician “Badge of Merit”.
NUCLEAR SCIENCE
No Prerequisites
About
Nuclear science gives us a simple explanation of the natural world. The ultimate goal of nuclear science is to find out if there is one fundamental rule that explains how matter and forces interact. Earning the Nuclear Science merit badge is a chance for Scouts to learn about this exciting field at the cutting edge of science today.
Nuclear Science is one of the elective merit badges for the William T. Hornaday awards for Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Prerequisites
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Bring a digital camera and USB cord.
About
Beyond capturing family memories, photography offers a chance to be creative. Many photographers use photography to express their creativity, using lighting, composition, depth, color, and content to make their photographs into more than snapshots. Good photographs tell us about a person, a news event, a product, a place, a scientific breakthrough, an endangered animal, or a time in history.
The Photography merit badge was one of the original 57 merit badges issued by the Boy Scouts of America in 1911.
RADIO
Prerequisites
About
Radio is a way to send information, or communications, from one place to another. Broadcasting includes both one-way radio (a person hears the information but can’t reply) as well as two-way radio (where the same person can both receive and send messages).
RIFLE SHOOTING
Prerequisites
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Permission slip required
About
Unless a rifle is handled incorrectly or recklessly, it is not dangerous. A rifle, like any other precision instrument, is manufactured to perform a specific task and can do so at no risk to the user or others. By earning this badge, Scouts can develop their shooting skills while learning safe practices.
ROBOTICS
No Prerequisite
About
Earning the Robotics merit badge requires a Scout to understand how robots move (actuators), sense the environment (sensors), and understand what to do (programming); he should demonstrate robot design in building a robot. You should help ensure that the Scout has sufficiently explored the field of robotics to understand what it is about, and to discover whether this may be a field of interest for him as a career.
SPACE EXPLORATION
No Prerequisites
About
Space is mysterious. We explore space for many reasons, not least because we don’t know what is out there, it is vast, and humans are full of curiosity. Each time we send explorers into space, we learn something we didn’t know before. We discover a little more of what is there.
THEATRE
No Prerequisites
About
While earning the Theater merit badge, Scouts will learn to appreciate live performances as members of the audience as well as go behind the footlights to see the view from the other side. Much more goes on in theater than ever meets the audience’s eye.
TRUCK TRANSPORTATION
No Prerequisites
About
Trucking is a large and important industry. No matter where you live, a day is unlikely to go by when you will not see a truck. We use these vehicles to deliver almost every material item we buy. Without trucks, our economy would not work efficiently.
VETERINARY SCIENCE
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WOOD CARVING
Prerequisites
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Bring a sharp knife and your Totin’ Chip
About
As with any art, wood carving involves learning the basics of design, along with material selection and tools and techniques, as well as wood-carving safety. The requirements of the Wood Carving merit badge introduce Scouts to an enjoyable hobby and that can become a lifetime activity.