Boy Scouts of America

Scouting Heritage Merit Badge

Scouting Heritage
Merit Badge

Boy Scouts of America Merit Badge Hub

Boy Scouts of America
Merit Badge Hub

ScoutingHeritage

Requirement Updates 2024

This Merit Badge’s Requirements have recently been updated in 2024 Scouts BSA Requirements (33216). Please read more about “Requirements” on the Merit Badge Hub homepage.

Scouting Heritage Merit Badge Overview

Explore the origins of the Scouting movement by earning the Scouting Heritage Merit Badge. Scouts will learn about the life and times of Lord Baden-Powell, discover how Scouting grew in the United States, and understand how Scouting’s programs have developed and adapted over time.
Scouting-Heritage_merit-badge-overview

Scouting Heritage Merit Badge Requirements

The requirements will be fed dynamically using the scout book integration
1. Discuss with your counselor the life and times of Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell. Explain why he felt a program like Scouting would be good for the young men of his day. Include in your discussion how Scouting was introduced in the United States, and the origins of Boy Scouting and Cub Scouting under Baden-Powell.
2. Do the following:
  • (a) Give a short biographical summary of any TWO of the following, and tell of their roles in how Scouting developed and grew in the United States.
  • (1) Daniel Carter Beard
  • (2) William D. Boyce
  • (3) Waite Phillips
  • (4) Ernest Thompson Seton
  • (5) James E. West
  • (6) "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt
  • (b) Discuss the significance to Scouting of any TWO of the following:
  • (1) Brownsea Island
  • (2) The First World Scout Jamboree
  • (3) Boy Scout Handbook
  • (4) Boys' Life magazine
3. Discuss with your counselor how Scouting's programs have developed over time and been adapted to fit different age groups and interests (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Exploring, Venturing).
4. Do ONE of the following:
  • (a) Attend either a BSA national jamboree, OR world Scout jamboree, OR a national BSA high-adventure base. While there, keep a journal documenting your day-to-day experiences. Upon your return, report to your counselor what you did, saw, and learned. You may include photos, brochures, and other documents in your report.
  • (b) Write or visit the National Scouting Museum. Obtain information about this facility. Give a short report on what you think the role of this museum is in the Scouting program.
  • (c) Visit an exhibit of Scouting memorabilia or a local museum with a Scouting history gallery, or (with your parent's permission and counselor's approval) visit with someone in your council who is recognized as a dedicated Scouting historian or memorabilia collector. Learn what you can about the history of Boy Scouting. Give a short report to your counselor on what you saw and learned.
5. Learn about the history of your unit or Scouting in your area. Interview at least two people (one from the past and one from the present) associated with your troop. These individuals could be adult unit leaders, Scouts, troop committee members, or representatives of your troop's chartered organization. Find out when your unit was originally chartered. Create a report of your findings on the history of your troop, and present it to your patrol or troop or at a court of honor, and then add it to the troop's library. This presentation could be in the form of an oral/written report, an exhibit, a scrapbook, or a computer presentation such as a slide show.
6. Make a collection of some of your personal patches and other Scouting memorabilia. With their permission, you may include items borrowed from family members or friends who have been in Scouting in the past, or you may include photographs of these items. Show this collection to your counselor, and share what you have learned about items in the collection. (There is no requirement regarding how large or small this collection must be.)
7. Reproduce the equipment for an old-time Scouting game such as those played at Brownsea Island. You may find one on your own (with your counselor's approval), or pick one from the Scouting Heritage merit badge pamphlet. Teach and play the game with other Scouts.
8. Interview at least three people (different from those you interviewed for requirement 5) over the age of 40 who were Scouts. Find out about their Scouting experiences. Ask about the impact that Scouting has had on their lives. Share what you learned with your counselor.

Get the Scouting Heritage Merit Badge Pamphlet

Calling all history buffs! You might think you know Scouting’s history, but with a rich story over 100 years old, there’s always more exciting stories to discover!

Discover more about "Scouting Heritage"

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Isaac Newton wrote that in 1676; in 2016, the Scouting Heritage merit badge lets Scouts look further as well. It introduces them to giants of Scouting like Robert Baden-Powell, Daniel Carter Beard, Waite Phillips and more. It helps Scouts claim their own place in Scouting history. And it can, if done incorrectly, be a little dry. The challenge for Scouting Heritage merit badge counselors is bringing history to life. For Richard Clem, a counselor from St. Paul, Minn., that means offering Scouts an array of 21st-century resources about mostly 20th- century topics. At bit.ly/ScoutingHeritage, Clem has created a directory of online resources that supplement the merit badge pamphlet. To learn about requirement 2b, for example, Scouts can access primary sources like Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys and the 1911 edition of the Handbook for Boys. They can visit the website of Brownsea Island, where Baden-Powell held his first Scout camp. Ellen Mercante, a counselor in St. Charles, Mo., has found that Scouting artifacts serve as great discussion starters for requirement 3 (discuss how Scouting’s programs have evolved). She has combed eBay and estate sales to find items like vintage merit badge sashes, old issues of Boys’ Life and even a Steve Scout doll (a Kenner toy from 1974) to show Scouts. “The kids are always surprised to see that,” she says. “They think it’s fun.” Mercante doesn’t just show and tell, though; she encourages Scouts to interact with her artifacts, whether that means trying on a vintage Scout shirt or guessing the names of old merit badges. “It’s interesting to see merit badges that aren’t around anymore,” she says. While history can be messy, the Scouting Heritage requirements are quite orderly, moving naturally from Scouting’s roots to the present. That doesn’t mean you have to cover them in order. Especially if you’re teaching the badge in a half-day or full-day session. Mercante recommends jumping around, interspersing discussions of history with the old-time Scouting games played for requirement 7. “If it becomes too much like school, we lose them,” she says. Games like Old Spotty-Face seem pretty dated to most Scouts, but the activity called “Kim’s Game” is something many units still play today. “It’s really surprising to me how little many things have changed,” Clem says. “There are some interesting games and skills and things in early Scout books that are probably just as relevant today.” Mercante sometimes uses connections between then and now to enrich her Scouts’ interviews with veteran Scouters (requirement 8). She’ll ask Scouts what they like about camping and then encourage them to ask the same questions of their interviewees. “Once they get talking, their eyes will light up, and then all of a sudden they’re thinking about a million questions,” she says. Those same questions can be a good start for requirement 5, in which Scouts learn about the history of their unit or Scouting in their area. At one recent session, some Scouts were having trouble with that requirement since their troop was less than a year old. Her response perfectly encapsulated the purpose of the badge: “You guys are making the history.”
When Scouting Heritage merit badge debuted in 2010, Scouts completing requirement 4B were asked to “write or visit the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas.” Now that the museum has officially opened at its new home at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, the procedure for completing this requirement has changed. Scouts still have the option to visit the museum in person and see its stunning new digs. That’s what I would call “Plan A.” Or they may complete the requirement by writing to the museum via email or traditional mail. But what’s the procedure for doing so? What will the museum send in reply? And what else should Scouts know about completing this requirement? I talked with David Werhane, director of the National Scouting Museum – Philmont Scout Ranch, to learn more.
Washington, D.C., is filled with Scouting history. The first National Scout Jamboree was held near the Washington Monument in 1937, and every president since Howard Taft has served as the honorary president of the BSA. Explore the interactive map below to see some of the Scouting-related attractions in our nation’s capital and then scroll down to see how you can take an actual Scouting history hike in Washington, D.C. Click on icons to view historic sites. (full screen) HIKING THROUGH SCOUTING’S HISTORY The National Capital Area Council’s History of Scouting Trail (HOST) program is designed to take visitors to Washington, D.C., on a tour of Scouting’s past. The HOST program features four options: the 5.9-mile Colin Livingstone Hike, named for the first president of the BSA; the 7.2-mile Baden-Powell Hike, named in honor of the founder of Scouting; the 5.4-mile James E. West Hike, named for the first Chief Scout Executive; and the 2.5-mile history hike. Each route features Scouting-related attractions, but finding them is part of the challenge. That’s because HOST is part capital tour, part scavenger hunt. Scouts must fill out cards showing they completed a challenge at each site.

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Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.