Merit Badges

Merit Badges introduce scouts to an abundance of subjects while offering countless challenging activities and promoting individual achievement. To achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, 21 MB’s in total must be completed, including 13 “Eagle Required” MB’s. Tasks required for most merit badges offer a wide range of unique experiences that give scouts an introduction to what might become greater life interests down the road.

Earning a MB starts with the scout filling out a Merit Badge Application “Blue Card”, to include the name of the MB Counselor he’s found that is authorized by the BSA to oversea and sign off the scouts work (unless to be completed at camp.) A Scoutmaster must sign the blue card as an “ok” for the scout to begin work on a new MB. The scout brings the blue card with him to the merit badge class/college/camp and turns it in to the MB Counselor who is conducting the instruction.

Once the scout has completed all of the requirements for his merit badge, and each is verified and signed-off on the Blue Card record by the appropriate MB Counselor, the Blue Card is turned into the troop Advancement Coordinators, Ken & Lin Macauley or Rob Wirt, at a troop meeting. The MB is then awarded to the scout at the next Court of Honor. The scout will get back a portion of the MB Blue Card, which must be kept as the record of completion in case there is an error in the computer files down the road come Eagle time!

Importantly, no one is going to monitor the blue card throughout this process, as there are too many scouts doing too many MB’s! It is the scouts responsibility to fill out, present, not loose and then turn in the blue card at a troop meeting to the appropriate person. No one is going to follow up or ask him for it!

There are MB pamphlets available at the Online Scout Shop for each MB and Troop 33 has a good library of our own. These pamphlets are required reading when working on a merit badge. Merit Badge Worksheets are available online for each MB and are sometimes required to be completed all or in part as prerequisites prior to the start of a MB class at summer camp, MB College, etc. At the very least, the worksheets provide a guide as the scout works through the MB information as to what he needs to know and accomplish. Some MB’s can be completed in a full day of focused study while others require a prescribed set of weeks during which information must be tracked or charted, such as Personal Fitness improvement or a daily budget as part of Personal Management. Some, such as Hiking, require that multiple hikes be recorded, which would be completed over a matter of months or years as troop hiking opportunities present themselves.

Creating a merit badge 3-ring binder for your son is a good way to organize a scout’s work on multiple merit badges and keep all of the worksheets in one place!

Merit Badge Counselors are adult and parent volunteers that have filled out both a BSA Adult Volunteer application, completed Youth Protection Training and the appropriate application for a MB in an area that they have some expertise or experience, and been approved by the Council. Scouts work on MB’s on their own or with other scouts, always under the supervision and with the help of the MB Counselor; at summer camp, and during other opportunities when available. If a scout does not complete all of the requirements at for example, summer camp, he will have what is called a “Partial Merit Badge”, meaning he needs complete those missing signoffs at a later date on his own initiative. In this case he must not loose his blue card as it is the only record of what he’s completed so far!

Merit Badge College is another opportunity to earn MB’s. MBC is a gathering of area scouts at a local high school (either Elkton HS or Newark HS) on two Saturdays, one in January and the second in February, for the purpose of providing an opportunity during the winter for scouts to earn MB’s. Scouts can sign up to take up to four MB classes over these two Saturdays as classrooms are filled throughout the school with classes taught by MB Counselors. Info about signing up will be sent out well in advance to the troop.

The Iron Hill Merit Badge Center resides in the quaint Iron Hill Museum on Old Baltimore Pike in Newark, and is another resource where regular MB classes are held on many Saturdays. They have recently opened a new Science Center on their property where they hold most of their programs. During the full or half day class, the scouts will complete the MB offered (unless the MB is scheduled over two Saturdays.) The Iron Hill MB Center’s website lists the MB’s offered and the dates, and registration is required with a nominal fee. The classes do fill up, so advance planning is recommended, and there may be prerequisites to be completed prior to attending. This is a very easy way for newer scouts to start earning some of the easier MB’s such as Geology, where they actually go to a local quarry at Iron Hill with hammers and goggles! They do offer MB’s geared for older scouts, such as the occasional Eagle Required MB as well as the Composite Materials MB, which is actually held off site at the UofD Composite Materials Lab!

Throughout scout year, one of the troop parents who is a MB Counselor may offer to host a class during the second half of the weekly meeting over the course of a few weeks, to work on a particular MB (usually an Eagle Required) with interested scouts. Finally, scouts are always able to begin work on a merit badge on their own initiative outside the more formal options above. The Council website has a list of all of the MB Counselors in the local area, both within the troop and without. The scout may contact that person directly and ask for help completing a MB. MB Counselors are to maintain “two deep leadership” when working with a scout as part of the BSA Youth Protection policy, meaning they would not work alone with the scout on the MB at any time.

High School activities and workload, as well as a maturing scout’s changing priorities, may tend to dampen the motivation for going after merit badges over time. The wise parent would consider the tried and true strategy of seeking out opportunities and encouraging work on the easier, fun merit badges the first couple years in the troop, and then encouraging focus on the Eagle Required merit badges up till high school. Front loading the more demanding Eagle Required MB’s will avert the struggle to get them done during high school when many other things vie for their attention.

A final thought regarding merit badges is for parents to seek out merit badges that would coincide with things your son may already be doing, so he gets credit for that effort! Music and Theater MBs for those in school chorus or theater; Athletics and Sports MB’s for those on sports teams; Scholarship MB for students with good grades; Reading and Art MB’s for those with art class at school, or who enjoy reading. Do you keep a garden at home during the summer (Gardening MB); do you tackle home repairs that your son could help with (Home Repair MB); do you have a dog or other pet (Dog Care & Pet Care MB’s)? Most kids need encouragement from parents who have sought out these merit badge opportunities and recommended them to their scout. Often kids will begin something that is put before them, when they might not have done so on their own initiative. Be a MB advocate for your scout and take advantage of the wide range of experiences offered! Finally, do you have an interest, hobby, skill or profession that would make you a candidate to be a Merit Badge Counselor for one or more MB’s?? Look through the list and find out!