Collections
The National Scouting Museum maintains a collection that chronicles the collective history of the Boy Scouts of America, and documents related organizations throughout the world. Ranging in scope from fine art to merit badges, the Museum's collections are used for exhibitions, research, and education. If you are interested in donating items to the Museum, please refer
here.
Art
For more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America has promoted its mission through the visual narratives of gifted illustrators. The two artists most closely linked with the organization are
Norman Rockwell and
Joseph Csatari, whose mutually long ties with Scouting represent lifetimes of work. The National Scouting Museum boasts an extensive collection of art by these two American realists, in addition to the work of J.C. Leyendecker, Remington Schuyler, Hy Hintermeister, and others.
Archives
The Museum is the official repository for the archives of the Boy Scouts of America, and includes Robert S.S. Baden-Powell’s personal papers, correspondence between the founders of the organization, and a wealth of photographic materials. Vast library holdings include a comprehensive collection of periodicals, Scouting fiction, and each edition and printing of the Boy Scout Handbook. If you are interested in our research policies, please refer
here.
Artifacts
The Museum is home to more than 600,000 artifacts detailing the history of the Scouting movement, including unique neckerchief slides, items from each national jamboree, awards, discontinued merit badges, and complete uniforms from across the decades.
Did you know
that the Museum owns the first Eagle medal ever awarded to a Scout?
In 1911, Arthur Eldred of Oceanside, New York, became the first Eagle Scout. His merit badges, neckerchief, and Eagle award are currently on view at the Museum.