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Scouts BSA Announces Digital Merit Badge Transformation

Exciting news from Scouts BSA today as we launch a major digital transformation of our merit badge program!

Free Digital Merit Badge Resources Now Available

Great news for Scouts, leaders, and parents! All merit badge pamphlets are now available as free PDFs on the Scouting.org merit badge website (https://www.scouting.org/skills/merit-badges/).  This upgrade gives everyone free access to these resources while offering printed versions through Scout shops. The digital format makes these materials much easier to access, particularly for Scouts in rural and remote areas. 

Printed pamphlets will continue to be updated and available through Scouting America and local Scout Shops. Merit badge pamphlets are designed to help Scouts complete the most current set of requirements. For the latest updates, always refer to the official merit badge pages on Scouting.org and Scoutbook.

Cool New Merit Badges Coming Soon

One of the most exciting announcements is a brand-new AI Merit Badge, coming in the next month or so! We’ve partnered with Myridius and other industry experts to create a badge that covers AI basics, automation, ethics, deep fakes, career skills, and hands-on applications.

Scouts will get help from “Scoutly,” our friendly AI chatbot, explicitly designed to assist with completing badge requirements. Scoutly is being tested with seven councils and will be ready by August 1st.

Additionally, we are developing a new Cybersecurity Merit Badge that we plan to launch later this summer. Stay tuned for additional details!

These new badges will feature digital resource guides rather than traditional pamphlets. These guides will include videos and interactive elements that resonate with today’s youth while delivering the educational content we value.

AI Bot Future & Merit Badge Help

Scoutly, the friendly AI chatbot, will not be limited to the AI Merit Badge. We will upload content from current merit badge pamphlets so Scouts can engage with and learn from a wide range of materials. The Fingerprinting Merit Badge will be the first uploaded and is scheduled for this fall. As merit badges continue to be updated, these will also be added in the future.

Scouts BSA Test Lab – Trying Out New Merit Badge Ideas

We’ve also launched the Scouts BSA Test Lab in the past few months! It’s a cool new way to test potential merit badges from the roughly 65 new ideas we receive each year.

The Test Lab lets us gather feedback directly from the people who matter most—our Scouts, their parents/guardians, and their leaders.

We’ve already introduced test badges for life skills, wildland fire management, and auctioneering. Coming this summer: dance and sewing/needlework badges! Each Test Lab badge has helpful digital resources like videos and images to make learning fun.

Our Three-Year Digital Plan

We’ve mapped out an exciting three-year journey to bring merit badges into the digital age:

2025:

  • Free PDF versions of all merit badge pamphlets on scouting.org ✓
  • Introduction of 2 new digital merit badges, AI & Cybersecurity

2026:

  • Cool merit badge resource videos
  • Digital guides for some of our most popular and least earned non-Eagle badges

2027:

  • Digital versions of the top historically popular badges in the Scouting mobile app
  • All 18 Eagle-required badges in interactive digital format
  • Digital guides for the top 5 historically earned non-Eagle badges in an interactive digital format

Today’s Scouts have grown up with Amazon, Uber, and Venmo – they expect digital experiences to be easy, effective, and engaging. We’re making sure Scouting delivers!

For questions and additional information, please contact merit.badge@scouting.org or ScoutsBSAChair@scouting.org

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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.