merit badge madness

[aflmom]

This is probably too general of a question, but what are merit badge madness camps? Do they offer Eagle merit badges? Is there a list of badges and prereqs given out ahead of time? Is this something done as a troop or can an individual go to any camp? Is there an internet site with the available camps? Okay, I tried to narrow down some of my questions.

[Mrw]

Is Merit Badge Madness a day-long merit badge session with many badge counselors available?

If so, then typically, you should be able to see ahead of time what badge counselors will be there.

My experience with these has been that it is a good way to get to counselors and finish off the sign-offs for badges which were already started. It may not be the best way to get started on a difficult badge.

You need to contact the organizer of the badge day to get the list of badges and counselors that will be there.

It should not be a problem for a single scout to go, but to take a buddy and encourage someone else to earn something too is a good way for your son to show leadership.

[wagionvigil]

We call them Merit Badge Campoees and We always sent out the Preresquites before hand.

[scoutchallenge]

This last weekend I brought 8 scouts to ADVANCECAMP.COM. This has been a wonderful experiance for my scouts the last three years.

I have been questioned several times by the Scout Master about the validity of this camp. "It takes a week of summer to get a merit badge, how can they do it in one day?"

Well, one hour a day for five days is five hours. Six hours a day for one day is six hours. Why does this concept continue to stup individuals?

If the scout is ready and prepared, ie read the MB book and put some work into it, then getting a MB should be easy.

Four of my scouts started the Personal Management MB. They came away with blue cards that have everything signed off except the three time requiredment items. I think this is a great start. Now they need to finish.

We also came away with 6 fingerprinting, 3 music, 2 art, and several started. I wish i could find five events like this a year. If not better than a week of camp, certainly a great addition to!

[EagleBoy62204]

Detroit area council has something called Trail To eagle. What happens when you sign up (the scout), he is put into a "troop" lead by a scoutmaster from around the area, and the group elects an spl, and a aspl, and the scoutmaster puts the boys in patrols.

Your boy can sign up for many badges, including all three cits, and alot if not most of the eagle requireds, including cycling and hiking!

I went through it in 2003, when i was going for my eagle. Alot of boys use it as a cheat to go through scouting, but the main purpose is to gain badges for Eagle.

[riverwalk]

Well, I really don't know....but one local group calls their MB day a "Palooza". So there are many names, even in my area, for these Activities. I promote these across District lines too. Too many Scouters think District boundaries are limitations. When one realizes there are Counselors you're looking for, right down the street.....why wouldn't you, woo-hoo!

[FearLess]

Well, we found out a little more last night. It's a two day overnight event, but it will probably be a couple of weeks before he can get more information re: what badges are going to be offered. I wish the info and prereq info would come out sooner. It takes him a LONG time to get the prereqs done because he goes into a lot of detail and pulls info off of the internet as well as from the book.

For summer camp, he did the prereqs for his first AND second choice merit badges because he wanted to be prepared for either. Then he went back and started working through the other reqs.

[aflmom]

I'm in trouble. I'm on my son's computer and I posted accidently under his log-in. Sorry about that! The previous post is mine.

[Mrw]

If he wants to work on a certain merit badge, he should go ahead and get started. Once he gets the requirements and the book for a badge, it should be fairly obvious which things need to be done, or at least started, before the camp.

If he picks something they are not offering, then he can just go ahead and finish it on his own.

My experience is that doing a merit badge on his own for the first time is the hardest thing to accomplish in the scout program. Having the courage to pick the badge and contact the counselor ALL BY HIMSELF seems to be something a lot of boys really need to work up towards.

Merit badge days and camps are great, but the boys that can't get over this hump will never earn their Eagle.

[diamondbackAPL]

In my council we call them merit badge colleges and merit badge workshops (yeah, I know, kind of dull).we get a list of all the baadges offered with preequisites on them. they offer some of the Eagle badges in our council. I really like them, because they were an easy way to earn several of my merit badges.

[Lynda J]

We have four districts that for years have gone together and done a Merit Badge College in Jan. This past year we had over 1600 boys attend. With close to 4oo counselors and helpers. I teach Safety every year. I know lots of people comment that it is a badge mill and lots of times the boys don't really cover the work. From what I have seen in ours they do.
The boys in my class have to really earn their badge and last year Kevin did First Aid. The counselor was an ER registered nurse. He loved the class and he really had to work hard on the homework handed out. But he loved it.

[scoutaholic]

When I was a young scout our district had a Merit Badge Pow-Wow every spring. 3 Saturdays in a row, we would meet for classes. We had to be all pre-registered, so they could have rooms, counselors, and class sizes worked out beforehand. They did three classes each week, and there were 3 session of each class. That left time in the weeks between to do most things that couldn't be done in a classroom setting. The event was free, except for possible supplies needed in some classes. I earned Citizenship in the Community with a member of the City Council, and Leatherwork with the owner and employees of the local leather shop. The district was very carefull to get good councelsors who really knew their subjects. I probably wouldn't have access to that knowledge base if I did the badges on my own or with my troop.


More recently, my current district has started doing a Merit Badge Shindig every winter. 2 Saturdays and longer hours. You can sign up for 6 classes, and each class has 2 sessions. Some of the MBs are taught in 2-hour blocks, so you don't get as many, but you get more time on those harder ones. Last year they added rank advancements, and this year they added lunch (prepared by those working on the rank advancement requirement of cooking). In previous years it was free, but now that they added lunch, they have also added a charge. Some years, the scheduling and counselors was very disorganized, but some classes were very well done and received. This list time, I didn't attend, but they did better advance preparation, so I presume it went better.


Utah National Parks Council (about 40 miles south of here) has been doing their Merit Badge Pow Wow for almost 50 years. They work with Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College for theirs. Many of the MBs are taught by volunteer professors and college students, using the school facilities. (Chemistry MB in the chemistry lab, Woodworking in the Wood Shop, UVSC Rodeo Club teaches Horsemanship, etc) They get about 5,000 scouts and 500-600 leaders all taking classes on the two campuses. They do 3 classes for 2 Saturdays. (See the article in the September 2004 Scouting Magazine.)