Scouts

Each Scouts BSA class will cover all requirements for a Merit Badge, although some classes will have prerequisite work or homework. Scouts BSA Merit Badge classes are designed for boys or girls who are 11 to 17 years of age, have earned the Arrow of Light Award and are at least 10 years old or have finished the fifth grade.

Archaeology
(One-Day Class, June 11 at Hermann Park and August 1 in Sugar Land)

Explore human cultures through the clues they left behind. Examine Museum artifacts, complete a mock dig, and create a cuneiform tablet.

Astronomy
(One-Day Class, July 25 at Hermann Park and July 11 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirements 4a, b & c, 5d, & 6b
STEM Nova badge

Explore how activities in space affect our planet and witness the wonders of the night sky. Burke Baker Planetarium show included.

Be Prepared
(Five-Day Class, June 9-13 and July 21-25 at Hermann Park and July 7-11 at Sugar Land)
Badges earned: Emergency Preparedness, First Aid, Fire Safety, and Safety
Prerequisites: Emergency Preparedness Requirement 7B and First Aid Requirement 1 and 5A&B
Eagle Scout Required Badge

Learn to be prepared for emergencies, including certification in First Aid/CPR, and to prevent incidents/emergencies using proactive safety practices.

Field Trip Permission Form required.

Captured Light
(Four-Day Class, June 30-July 3 at Hermann Park)
Badges: Art, Graphics Arts, Photography and Textiles

Discover art by using various mediums to draw. Explore the printing industry from digital design to screen printing and more. Design and produce original printed work and learn the skills to become a better photographer. Investigate natural to synthetic textiles protect you from changing temperatures fibers, fires and fumes.

Chemistry
(One-Day Class, July 21 at Hermann Park and July 31 at Sugar Land)

Put on your goggles and gloves and conduct your own experiments. Learn safety procedures and proper techniques as we investigate how substances react with one other.

Citizenship in the Community
(One-Day Class, June 9, July 3, July 21 at Hermann Park and July 7 and July 30 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirements 3 & 7a, b,& c must be completed with troop leader approval.
Eagle Scout Required badge

Explore how our local governments work within their community and their part within the community.

Citizenship in the Nation
(One-Day Class, June 10, July 1, and July 25 at Hermann Park and June 20 and July 29 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirements 5, 7 & 8
Eagle Scout Required badge

Scouts will learn the rights, liberties, and responsibilities of being a citizen of our nation.

Citizenship in the World
(One-Day Class, June 11, July 2, and July 22 at Hermann Park and May 29, June 18, and July 30 at Sugar Land)
Eagle Scout Required badge

How do different countries get along? Do events affect a country’s economy, security, and health of its citizens? Scouts will discuss international relations, the various political systems and what it means to be a world citizen.

Communications
(One-Day Class, June 13, June 30, and July 24 at Hermann Park and June 16, July 10, and August 1 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirements 4, 5 & 8
Eagle Scout Required badge

We use communication skills throughout our lives. Scouts will prepare and participate in effective communication skills from public speaking to digital communication.

Death by Natural Causes
(Four-Day Class, (June 30-July 3 at Hermann Park)
Prerequisites Health Care Professions requirement 9, Insect Study Requirements 5 a & b, & Reptile and Amphibians 8a or b & 9 a or c. There is outside work.
Badges: Health Care Professions, Insect Study, Public Health and Reptile and Amphibians

Take a spine-tingling look at human health from ancient times to the present day, studying public health through museum exhibits and exploring health care professions. Have a close encounter with some of the museum’s amphibians, insects and reptiles.

A field trip to a local restaurant is included (Field Trip Permission Form required).

Designing Your World
(Five-Day Class, July 21-25 at Hermann Park)
Badges: Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Learn how architecture is more than just a building but a work of art that requires thought and planning. Similarly, learn how landscape architects design and plan outdoor spaces that people will want to visit.

A field trip to downtown Houston is included (Field Trip Permission Form required).

Disabilities Awareness
(One-Day Class, June 10 at Hermann Park)
Prerequisite 2 & 4 Option A, just one other place to visit, the museum will count as 1 of the 2 visits.
Eagle Scout Required badge

Learn to understand and appreciate each individual’s strengths and challenges while exploring how the museum provides resources to meet the needs of our patrons.

Electricity
(One-Day Class, June 12 at Hermann Park and July 16 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites 2, 8 and 9.

Investigate the principles of electricity and build electrical circuits and components.

Outside work is required.

Electronics
(One-Day Class, June 30 at Hermann Park and July 7 at Sugar Land)
Eagle Scout Required badge

Investigate electrical devices and how they work while exploring circuits, soldering and Ohm’s Law.

Energy
(One-Day Class, July 1 and July 23 at Hermann Park and May 30 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisite 4 Home Energy Audit and 14 Day Log, 4a.

Explore how energy works, find out about energy conservation, natural resources and different forms of energy.

Outside work is required.

Environmental Science
(Two-Day Class, (June 12-13, July 1-2, and July 21-22 at Hermann Park and June 17-18, July 9-10, and July 28-29 at Sugar Land)
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge
Eagle Scout Required badge

Investigate the interactions between air, land, water and life and the human impact on each of them as you complete this badge at HMNS. 

Field Trip Permission Form Required.

Family Life
(One-Day Class, (June 10, June 30, and July 24 at Hermann Park and May 29, July 11, and July 28 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirements 3, 4, 5 and 6ab – family meeting instructions are found in the prerequisite workbook
Eagle Scout Required badge

Scouts will learn the roles families play within the community, the importance of family life, and how to strengthen their own families.

Final Frontier
(Four-Day Class, June 30-July 3 at Hermann Park)
Badges earned: Astronomy, Space Exploration and Weather

Discover how space affects our planet and explore the wonders of the night sky including nebulae, meteor showers, and more. Learn about man’s efforts to explore the solar system and beyond.  Study the Earth’s atmosphere, learn about the water cycle, predict the weather and discuss extreme weather.

Geology
(One-Day Class, June 9 at Hermann Park and July 8 at Sugar Land)
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge

Examine fossils, explore the history of the Earth and the processes that have shaped it over time.  Visit the Hall of Paleontology to see how HMNS preserves and displays fossils.

Indian Lore
(One-Day Class, July 2 at Hermann Park)

Indigenous Americans have many different regional cultures.  Languages, religions, styles of dress, and ways of life. – Using the John P. McGovern Hall of Americas to explore past and present some of America’s most fascinating peoples.

Insect Study
(One-Day Class, July 25 at Hermann Park and July 9 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirements 5 a & b
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge

Discover the wide variety of insect life that inhabits the planet and explore the Brown Hall of Entomology or Sugar Land’s Hall of Insects.

Law and Order
(Four-Day Class, June 30-July 3 at Hermann Park)
Badges earned: American Heritage, Crime Prevention, Fingerprinting, and Law

Learn about the ways in which the past has led to our present nation and what it means to be an American. Explore crime prevention in your school and neighborhood and the criminal justice system. Then try your hand at taking fingerprints.

Mining in Society
(One-Day Class, July 3 at Hermann Park)
STEM Nova badge

From deep in the ground to your dinner table, learn the processes, dangers, and environmental impacts of mining.

Personal Management
(One-Day Class, June 9 and July 3 at Hermann Park and May 30, June 17, and July 8 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirements 2A & B1–4, 8A–D
Eagle Scout Required badge

Explore budgets, finance, and investment strategies. This merit badge is recommended for older scouts.

Planes, Trains and Submarines
(Five-Day Class, June 9-13 and July 21-25 at Hermann Park)
Badges earned: Aviation, Oceanography, and Railroading
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge

Discover how planes fly, the history of railroads, and the wonders of the ocean depths. A field trip to Galveston includes the Railroad Museum, Lone Star Flight Museum, and Moody Gardens Aquarium.

Field Trip Permission Form required.

Outside work is required.

Power of Engineering
(Four or Five-Day Class, July 21-25 at Hermann Park and June 16-18 and 20 at Sugar Land)
Badges earned: Electricity, Engineering, and Nuclear Science
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge

Build electrical circuits, perform an electrical safety inspection, and design and build a solar cooker as you explore how science, technology, and mathematics turn ideas into reality.

Outside work is required.

Reptile and Amphibian
(One-Day Class, July 24 at Hermann Park)
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge
Prerequisites: Requirements 8a or b & 9a or c

Learn about reptiles and amphibians, their similarities, and differences, with the Museum’s live animal collection!

Signs, Signals, & Codes
(One-Day Class, July 23 at Hermann Park and June 16 at Sugar Land)

Discover the history and development of ciphers and codes and the importance of the signs and signals in our everyday lives. 

Soil & Water Conservation
(One-Day Class, July 22 at Hermann Park and July 31 at Sugar Land)
Prerequisites: Requirement 7e
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge

Explore the practices of conservation involving soil and water and the care of these natural resources.

Strategy and Exploration
(Five-Day Class, June 9-13 at Hermann Park)
Badges earned: Chess, Game Design, and Geocaching
Explore the psychology and strategy involved in the creation of familiar games. Design your own game, learn to play chess, and participate in geocache games using GPS.

A geocache field trip is included. Field Trip Permission Form required. Outside work is required.

That’s Entertainment
(Five-Day Class, June 9-13 at Hermann Park)
Badges earned: Animation, Movie Making, and Radio
Create a short film, from start to finish using stop-motion animation. Explore broadcasting and record your own. A field trip to a local radio/television studio is included.

Field Trip Permission Form required.

Outside work is required.

Weather
(One-Day Class, June 12 at Hermann Park)
Distinguished Conservation Service Awards Program elective badge

STEM Nova badge

Study the Earth’s atmosphere, learn about the water cycle, predict the weather and discuss extreme weather.

[Insert link to prerequisite workbooks]