Please read the Troop 373 Merit Badge Procedure page.

1) Some Merit Badges have more than one Troop 373 Counselor.

2) * Bold = Eagle Required MB  ( Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving * ) (Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling * )
See What Badge Should I work on?

3) The Merit Badge Counselor Chair will work to find Merit Badges Counselor for any MB.
the Official BSA Web site). For guidance you can talk to a Scoutmaster (or the Advancement Chair) about your interests or your current requirements for advancement.

4) Some Counselors and all camps will ask you to use a Worksheets for working on the requirements. These are found on the at the end of each MB at http://www.usscouts.org/usscouts/meritbadges.asp. Here you will find the sheets in both Word Doc and PDF format. Worksheets are also found at this link.  Arcadia Wilderness Park  and Camp Trask also requires the worksheets.  Merit Badge Day rules

5) (**) = Is part of World Conservation Award. (panda badge)

6) Thank you Troop 373 Leaders!

7) The Counselor may or may not teach some of the requirements, it is up the Counselor. Counselors will answer any questions about the requirements, but are not required to teach the MB.

8) A Scout must have a Troop Leader Signed Blue Card before calling the Troop Merit Badge Counselor Chair or a Counselor.

9) Contact the Troop Merit Badge Counselor Chair for the name and phone # of the Counselor.

Current Troop Merit Badge Counselor Chair is: (or ask Tom S.)    C a t h y M o    r r i s  Or as k  T o m S a   r g e n t

10) Link to the new Cooking and Sustainability Merit Badges Transition to Eagle-Required List

Scouts Merit Badges Requiring Prior Approval from your Counselor, see this link.

Merit Badge FAQ

The following is a list of all the BSA Merit Badges (list as of 2013)

The official list from BSA with a picture of each patch

Link for current Merit Badges from http://www.usscouts.org with work sheets

Work sheets from meritbadge.org
Link for current MBs  from http://meritbadge.org  with work sheets

List of Merit Badges by Field of Study

Bold are Eagle Required MB  note:( Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving *) (Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling *)
21 MBs are needed for Eagle Rank
 

American Business American Cultures American Heritage American Labor Animal Science Archaeology Archery Architecture Art Astronomy Athletics Automotive Maintenance Aviation Backpacking Basketry Bird Study Bugling Camping Canoeing Chemistry Cinematography Citizenship in the Community Citizenship in the Nation Citizenship in the World Climbing Chess Coin Collecting Collections Communications Composite Materials Computers Cooking   (as of  1-1-2014)  Crime Prevention Cycling Dentistry Disabilities Awareness Dog Care Drafting Electricity Electronics Emergency Preparedness Energy

Engineering Entrepreneurship Environmental Science Family Life Farm Mechanics Fingerprinting Fire Safety First Aid Fish and Wildlife Management  ** Fishing Fly Fishing Forestry Gardening Genealogy Geocaching Geology Golf Graphic Arts Hiking Home Repairs Horsemanship Indian Lore Insect Study INVENTING Journalism  Kayaking new Landscape Architecture Law Leatherwork Lifesaving Mammal Study Medicine Metalwork Model Design and Building Motorboating Music Nature Nuclear Science Oceanography Orienteering Painting Personal Fitness Personal Management Pets

Photography Pioneering Plant Science Plumbing Pottery Public Health Public Speaking Pulp and Paper Radio Railroading Reading Reptile and Amphibian Study Rifle Shooting Rowing Safety Salesmanship Scholarship  Scouting Heritage: Sculpture Search and Rescue  8-2012 New. Shotgun Shooting Skating Small-Boat Sailing Snow Sports Soil and Water Conservation ** Space Exploration Sports Stamp Collecting Scuba: Surveying Swimming Textile Theater Traffic Safety Truck Transportation Veterinary Medicine Water Sports Weather Welding new Whitewater Wilderness Survival Wood Carving Woodwork

NEW Merit Badges.

 * Scuba: Merit Badge became effective January 1, 2010

* Geocaching Merit Badge his here, started Feb. 24, 2010

* Scouting Heritage: his here, started April , 2010

* INVENTING Merit Badge his here, started June 2010. INVENTING

* Robotics merit badge approved new as of April 2011.

*  Chess Merit Badge : Started Sept. 10, 2011

* New, starting in March, 2012 Welding Merit Badge.  Link1link 2Link 3

*Newest  Kayaking  started New  June 12, 2012.

Search and Rescue  8-2012 New.
________________

These merit badge(s) have been approved and are in development with the following tentative launch dates.
 

Seee http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/merit-badge-calendar/

http://www.michiganscouting.org/News/MeritbadgeUpdate
 

* Programming announced. Due by 2013    (A tech-focused merit badge for the 21st Century.)

* Game Design, announced. see link Due by early 2013
Description: Slated to include both traditional games and video games, this sure-to-be-popular merit badge will test Scouts’ creativity, computer skills, and planning abilities.

* Animation announced. Due by 2013-2014

Computer or traditional animation tasks that will test a Scout's creativity, artistic skills, and storytelling abilities.

* Signs, Signals, and Codes    late 2014 or 2015

American Sign Language (ASL) is the third most used language in the United States.  The Signs, Signals, and Codes merit badge will cover Morse code, ASL, Braille, signaling, trail markings, and other nonverbal communications.

Sustainability MB  Estimated release: 2013 Jamboree  Note: This merit badge will be Eagle-required. Scouts must earn either this or Environmental Science.
Description: A badge to teach Scouts to use resources responsibly.

Digital Technology (will replace Computers)  Estimated release: 2013 (after Jamboree)
Description: Technology has come a long way since Computers merit badge was first introduced in 1967. This badge, which replaces Computers, will teach Scouts about technology in the digital age.

Multi-Media  MB Estimated release: 2014

Computer-Aided Design  MB Estimated release: 2014-2015
Description: Teaching boys to use computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design.

Advanced Computing MB Estimated release: 2014-2015  Description:  The next generation of computing.

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Cooking Merit Badge to be Required for Eagle Scout Rank

Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the Cooking merit badge will be required in order to obtain the Eagle Scout rank.
Regardless of when a Scout earned the Life rank or began working on Eagle, unless he fulfills all the
requirements — with the exception of his board of review—before Jan. 1, 2014, he must earn the
Cooking merit badge to become an Eagle Scout.

Cooking Merit Badge Targeted for Revision
During 2013 the Cooking merit badge will undergo a major revision. The process for implementing
changes to merit badges is covered in the Guide to Advancement, topic 7.0.4.2, “What to Do When
Requirements Change.” The changes to Cooking will first appear in a revised merit badge pamphlet
that will be released during 2013. The new requirements then become effective Jan. 1, 2014, with the
release of Boy Scout Requirements, No. 34765. The Guide then allows the following options for the
period of time between the release of the revised pamphlet and the Jan. 1, 2014, effective date:

 If Scouts have already started on the merit badge, they may switch to the new requirements or
continue with the old ones until the badge is completed.
 If Scouts have not already started on the merit badge, they may opt to use the new requirements
and the new pamphlet.
 If work on the merit badge begins before Jan. 1, 2014, they may use the old requirements and old
pamphlet until the badge is completed.

The Guide to Advancement, under the same topic, goes on to say, “There is no time limit between
starting and completing a badge, although a counselor may determine so much time has passed since
any effort took place that the new requirements must be used.” This will apply to Cooking as well.

Regardless of the Requirements Used, Cooking Will Count
Scouts completing the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank after Jan. 1, 2014, must earn the Cooking
merit badge under either the existing requirements or under the requirements as revised during 2013.
Scouts are not required to earn the badge under the new requirement in order to qualify for Eagle.

In summary the Environmental Science merit badge studies the following:
• Ecology
• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Land pollution
• Endangered species
• Pollution prevention, resource recovery, and conservation
• Ecosystem—living and nonliving
• Environmental impact

The requirements for Sustainability have not yet been finalized, but initial discussions include the
following topics:

  What is sustainability?
 Examining our current needs and our choices in meeting them, with attention to extraction,
production, distribution, consumption, and disposal  Impact on our natural resources  Problems we must address, including plastic, electronic, and medical waste; species extinction, and climate change.  New habits to adopt, including green chemistry, recycling, zero waste, and sustainability-conscious citizens.  Careers related to sustainability

Q and A

What’s the Procedure?

COOKING MERIT BADGE REQUIRED FOR EAGLE
Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the Cooking merit badge will be required to obtain the Eagle Scout rank. Here are some details.

WHAT ABOUT SCOUTS WHO STARTED WORKING TOWARD EAGLE BEFORE 2014?
Regardless of when a Scout earned the Life rank or began working towards Eagle, unless he fullls all the requirements
before Jan. 1, 2014 – with the exception of his board of review – he must earn the Cooking merit badge to become an Eagle Scout.

WILL THE COOKING MERIT BADGE REQUIREMENTS CHANGE?
Yes. During 2013 the Cooking merit badge will undergo a major revision. The process for implementing
changes to merit badge requirements is covered in the Guide to Advancement, topic 7.0.4.2,
“What to Do When Requirements Change.” The changes to Cooking will ?
First appear in a revised merit badge pamphlet to be released sometime in 2013.

ONCE THE REVISED REQUIREMENTS ARE RELEASED, WHICH VERSION WILL COUNT?
The new requirements become effective Jan. 1, 2014, with the release of the 2014 Boy Scout Requirements,
No. 34765. The Guide to Advancement then allows the following options for the period of time between the
release of the revised pamphlet and the Jan. 1, 2014, effective date:

• If Scouts have already started on the merit badge, they may switch to the new requirements (using the
new merit badge pamphlet) or continue with the existing ones (and using the existing pamphlet) until the
badge is completed. • Scouts who have not already started on the merit badge may opt to use the new requirements and the new pamphlet.

• Scouts who begin work on the merit badge before Jan.1, 2014,  may use the existing requirements and pamphlet until the badge is completed.

• Under the same topic, the Guide to Advancement goes on to say, “There is no time limit between starting
and completing a badge, although a counselor may determine so much time has passed since any effort
took place that the new requirements must be used.” This will apply to Scouts working on the Cooking merit badge as well.

LET’S SAY A SCOUT HAS ALREADY EARNED COOKING.  WILL HE HAVE TO RE-EARN IT
WITH THE REVISED REQUIREMENTS TO  OBTAIN THE EAGLE RANK?
No. Scouts who complete the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank after Jan. 1, 2014, must earn the Cooking
merit badge under either the existing requirements or the requirements as revised during 2013. Scouts are
not required to earn the badge under the new requirements in order to qualify for Eagle.
 

New Sustainability Merit Badge a Required-for-Eagle Option
Upon its release set for summer 2013, the Sustainability merit badge becomes an Eagle-required merit badge as an option to Environmental Science.
This means once the Sustainability merit badge and pamphlet become available in 2013,
Scouts may choose to earn the Sustainability merit badge in place of the currently required Environmental Science merit badge.

Here are some additional facts.

If A SCOUT EARNS BOTH THE SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MERIT BADGES,
DO BOTH COUNT TOWARD EAGLE?
Scouts who have already earned Environmental Science may also earn Sustainability,but only one of the
two merit badges would count as “Eagle-required.”

The second badge may be counted among his electives to reach the total of 21 required merit badges.

CAN YOU GIVE ME A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THE SUSTAINABILITY  MERIT BADGE WILL COVER?
The Sustainability merit badge, in essence, takes conservation and environmental science to another level.
The protection, preservation, and management of wildlife and natural resources involved in conservation
provide a foundation for what we call environmental science. It integrates physical and biological sciences
such as ecology, biology, soil science, atmospheric science, and others in order to generate solutions to environmental
issues. Sustainability takes it a step further by emphasizing responsibility for balancing long-term
environmental, social, health, and economic needs with progress and development. It further suggests that development,
while meeting the needs of the present, cannot compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

WHAT SUBJECT AREAS WILL SCOUTS STUDY IN THE SUSTAINABILITY  MERIT BADGE?
• Ecology
• Air, water, and land pollution
• Endangered species
• Pollution prevention, resource recovery, and conservation
• Ecosystem—living and nonliving
• Environmental impact

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY?
The requirements for Sustainability have not yet been finalized, but initial discussions include the following
topics:
• What is sustainability?
• Examining our current needs and our choices in meeting them, with attention to extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal
• Impact on our natural resources
• Problems we must address, including plastic, electronic, and medical waste; species extinction; and climate change
• New habits to adopt, including green chemistry, recycling, zero waste, and sustainability conscious citizenship
• Careers related to sustainability
 
 

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Sample Drafting Merit Badge (None Eagle)   Gold Trim

 

Camping Merit Badge  (Eagle)    Sliver Trim