Merit badges are awards earned by members of
Scouting America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
, based on activities within the area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to further pursue them as a career or vocation. The program also introduces Scouts to life skills such as contacting an adult they had not met before, arranging a meeting, and demonstrating their skills, similar to a job or college interview.
The merit badge award is represented by a circular patch with an image representing the badge's topic. The patches for the
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
-required merit badges are distinguishable by the silver border on the outside edge. Merit badges are displayed on a
sash
A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the human body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else encircling the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, ...
which can be worn with the
Scouts BSA uniform on formal occasions. The
National Council reviews and updates badges each year. There are currently 139 merit badges.
Scouting
Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
organizations in other countries issue or have issued merit badges, including
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
has a program similar to merit badges for certain age groups.
Current badges
:The last revision date indicates the date of the latest requirement changes; the copyright or printing dates of merit badge pamphlets may have a different date. The Eagle Scout required merit badges are shaded in gray (see above paragraph for details).
Historical program
Offered only in 2010, the Historical Merit Badge program, part of the
Boy Scouts of America centennial
The Boy Scouts of America Centennial was a special event to celebrate its centennial that took place from September 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010. It celebrated its incorporation on February 8, 1910.
Uniform
The Boy Scout uniform was redesi ...
, allowed Scouts to earn the discontinued Carpentry, Pathfinding, Signalling, and Tracking (originally called Stalking) merit badges. The patches for these historical merit badges are distinguished by a gold ring on the outside edge. All were based on merit badges that were among the original 57 issued in 1911.
See also
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Discontinued merit badges (Boy Scouts of America)
This is a list of merit badges formerly offered by the Boy Scouts of America. In some cases, the entire subject has been dropped from the merit badge roster. In others, the merit badge's name has been changed, with or without significant revision ...
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History of merit badges (Boy Scouts of America)
The history of merit badges in Scouting America has been tracked by categorizing them into a series of ''merit badge types''. In addition to Scouting America, many other Scouting and Scouting-like organizations around the world, such as Pathfin ...
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Original 57 merit badges (Boy Scouts of America)
In 1911, 57 merit badges were issued by the Boy Scouts of America. Many of them exist to this day and are listed below in green.
Many of the others have been discontinued or reintroduced with different names. Of the discontinued original meri ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Merit Badge (Boy Scouts Of America)
Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America
Scouting uniform