Merit Badges

Visit meritbadge.org for even more information:

You can learn about sports, crafts, science, trades, business, and future careers as you earn merit badges. There are more than 100 merit badges. Any Boy Scout may earn any merit badge at any time. You don't need to have had rank advancement to be eligible.

Patrol Leaders, we encourage all of you to engage (with a counselor) your entire patrol in a fun merit badge. A few great ones to earn in groups include cooking, coin collecting, and American heritage. Contact the counselor of a merit badge you're interested in to schedule them in at some of your meetings. (20 points per merit badge [non-eagle required] you earn as a patrol towards patrol of the month!)


Here's how to earn a merit badge:

Pick a Subject. Talk to your Scoutmaster about your interests. Read the requirements of the merit badges you think might interest you. Pick one to earn. Mrs. Palmquist will give you the name of a person from a list of counselors. These counselors have special knowledge in their merit badge subjects and are interested in helping you. Then ask Mrs. Palmquist for a merit badge blue card.

Contact the Counselor. Get a signed merit badge application from your Scoutmaster. Get in touch with the merit badge counselor and tell him or her that you want to earn the merit badge. The counselor may ask to meet you to explain what is expected of you and to start helping you meet the requirements. You should also discuss work that you have already started or possibly completed.

Unless otherwise specified, work for a requirement can be started at any time. Ask your counselor to help you learn the things you need to know or do. You should read the merit badge pamphlet on the subject. Many troops and school or public libraries have them.

Show Your Stuff. When you are ready, call the counselor again to make an appointment to meet the requirements. When you go take along the things you have made to meet the requirements. If they are too big to move, take pictures or have an adult tell in writing what you have done. The counselor will ask you to do each requirement to make sure that you know your stuff and have done or can do the things required.

Get the Badge. When the counselor is satisfied that you have met each requirement, he or she will sign your application. Give the signed application to your Scoutmaster so that your merit badge emblem can be secured for you.

Requirements. You are expected to meet the requirements as they are stated—no more and no less. You are expected to do exactly what is stated in the requirements. If it says "show or demonstrate," that is what you must do. Just telling about it isn't enough. The same thing holds true for such words as "make," "list," "in the field," and "collect," "identify," and "label."

The requirements listed in this publication are the official requirements of the Boy Scouts of America. However, the requirements on the following pages might not match those in the Boy Scout Handbook and the merit badge pamphlets, because this publication is updated only on an annual basis.

If a Scout has already started working on a merit badge when a new edition of the pamphlet is introduced, he should continue to use the same merit badge pamphlet and fulfill the requirements therein to earn the badge. He need not start all over again with the new pamphlet and possibly revised requirements.

Eagle Required Merit Badges. There are fifteen eagle required merit badges; they include: First Aid | Citizenship in the Community | Citizenship in the Nation | Citizenship in the World | Communications | Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving | Environmental Science | Camping | Family Life | Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling | Personal Fitness | Personal Management.

---These eagle-required merit badges have a silver brim, and are most often more difficult to earn than a 'regular' merit badge. Our troop has a counselor for nearly every eagle required badge, and for many more 'regular' ones.

Click on a merit badge name to see its requirements:

American Business Workbook	American Cultures Workbook	American Heritage Workbook	American Labor Workbook	Animal Science Workbook
Archaeology Archaeology	Archery Workbook	Architecture Workbook	Art Workbook	Astronomy Workbook
Athletics Workbook	Automotive Maintenance Workbook	Aviation Workbook	Backpacking Workbook	Basketry Workbook
Bird Study Workbook	Camping Workbook	Canoeing Workbook	Carpentry Workbook	Chemistry Workbook
Cinematography Workbook	Citizenship in the  Community Workbook	Citizenship in the Nation Workbook	Citizenship in the World Workbook	Climbing Workbook
Coin Collecting Workbook	Collections Workbook	Communication Workbook	Composite Materials Workbook	Computers Workbook
Cooking Workbook	Crime Prevention Workbook	Cycling Workbook	Dentistry Workbook	Disabilities Awareness Workbook
Dog Care Workbook	Drafting Workbook	Electricity Workbook	Electronics Workbook	Emergency Preparedness Workbook
Energy Workbook	Engineering Workbook	Entrepreneurship Workbook	Environmental Science Workbook	Family Life Workbook
Farm Mechanics Workbook	Fingerprinting Workbook	Fire Safety Workbook	First Aid Workbook	Fish and Wildlife Management Workbook
Fishing Workbook	Fly-Fishing Workbook	Forestry Workbook	Gardening Workbook	Genealogy Workbook
Geocaching Workbook	Geology Workbook	Golf Workbook	Graphic Arts Workbook	Hiking Workbook
Home Repairs Workbook	Horsemanship Workbook	Indian Lore Workbook	Insect Study Workbook	Inventing Workbook
Journalism Workbook	Landscape Architecture Workbook	Law Workbook	Leatherwork Workbook	Lifesaving Workbook
Mammal Study Workbook	Medicine Workbook	Metalwork Workbook	Workbook	Motorboating Workbook
Music Workbook	Nature Workbook	Nuclear Science Workbook	Oceanography Workbook	Orienteering Workbook
Painting Workbook	Pathfinding Workbook	Personal Fitness Workbook	Personal Management Workbook	Pets Workbook
Photography Workbook
	Pioneering Workbook	Plant Science Workbook	Plumbing Workbook	Pottery Workbook
Public Health Workbook	Public Speaking Workbook	Pulp and Paper Workbook	Radio Workbook	Railroading Workbook
Reading Workbook	Reptile and Amphibian Study Workbook	Rifle Shooting Workbook	Rowing Workbook	Safety Workbook
Salesmanship Workbook	Scholarship Workbook	Scouting Heritage Workbook	Scuba Diving Workbook	Sculpture Workbook
				Snow Sports Workbook
Shotgun Shooting Workbook	Skating Workbook	Signaling Workbook	Small-Boat Sailing Workbook
Soil and Water Conservation Workbook	Space Exploration Workbook	Sports Workbook	Stamp Collecting Workbook	Surveying Workbook
Swimming Workbook	Textile Workbook	Theater Workbook	Tracking Workbook	Traffic Safety Workbook
	Veterinary Medicine Workbook
Truck Transportation Workbook		Water Sports Workbook	Weather Workbook	Whitewater Workbook
Wilderness Survival Workbook	Wood Carving Workbook	Woodwork Workbook