Merit badge (Boy Scouts of America) is part of the Scouting WikiProject, an effort to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to Scouting and Guiding on the Wikipedia. This includes but is not limited to boy and girl organizations, WAGGGS and WOSM organizations as well as those not so affiliated, country and region-specific topics, and anything else related to Scouting. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.ScoutingWikipedia:WikiProject ScoutingTemplate:WikiProject ScoutingScouting articles
Looking at revision dates, I think there was a lot of confusion between requirement dates and pamphlet dates, so I added the column on pamphlets. The BSA just added a list of pamphlets, so I went with those dates. In fact, the BSA site now has listings for all of the Boy Scout requirements. The table is now sortable- just click on the icon in the top row. --Gadget850 (Ed)10:54, 7 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Good catch on the dates. They only change the requirements about once every 5 years. COOL SORTING!. I didn't know that could be done in wiki.Rlevse11:35, 7 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If we are going to start noting the merit badges formerly required for Eagle, there are going to be a lot of notes. For example, Cooking, Bird Study, Pioneering, Athletics, Nature, Soil and Water Conservation, Safety and more were all once required. The scope of the article is on the current requirements. --Gadget850 (Ed)13:00, 8 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Agree with Gadget, the person that made those entries only noted more recent ones. The list of former requireds is VERY long, going all the way back to 1910.Rlevse13:22, 8 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Images- old and new
Some merit badges have two images. Aviation, Journalism, Nuclear Science and Railroading looks like they have both an older and a redesigned badge; Cycling, Family Life, Safety and Sports have images with the green border and with the silver border. Again, within the scope of this article, these should use the current images. --Gadget850 (Ed)13:38, 8 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
[1], a story I noticed in the Chicago Tribune about "LINCOLN PARK, Mich. - An 18-year-old from Lincoln Park is being honored for earning all of the Boy Scouts' 121 merit badges." The article claims he's the first to do so since the Scouts founding in 1910. Thought someone might want to add this somehow.Heironymous Rowe (talk) 03:32, 28 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Opposed to the history one. This article is specifically about the history (evolution) of the badges, not MBs in general. If you look at the FACs on this article, you'll find a lot of talk about the article title and this is the one settled on. Don't care about the first one. — Rlevse • Talk • 23:13, 11 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'm going to be cleaning up the table soon. The direct links to Meritbadge.org need to go and some other cleanup. We have four new merit badges (Scuba, Scouting Heritage, Robotics, GPS) plus four classic badges returning for 2010 only (Tracking, Signaling, Blacksmithing). ---— Gadget850 (Ed)talk01:57, 22 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
A few weeks ago, somebody sent me a press release about the Chess Merit Badge. One of my fellow scoutmasters confirmed it, and there is now a page about it on MeritBadge.com. Should we add it to the list? That would require replacing Robotics as newest merit badge with Chess Purplebackpack89≈≈≈≈02:33, 26 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. The national kickoff will be at the grand opening of the Chess Hall of Fame on September 8-10, 2011 and the final version of requirements will be released then. I'm hearing that the next will be Welding merit badge. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)talk02:40, 26 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Somewhere, do we want to mention the progression of Eagle required Merit badges? Somewhere along the lines of:
Eagle Required Merit Badges
The following merit badges have been required for Eagle at one time or another:
Athletics 1914-52 (this or Physical Development)
Bird Study 1914-52
Camping 1914-72, 1978-present
Citizenship in the Community 1965-present
Citizenship in the Nation 1965-present
Citizenship in the World 1972-present
Civics 1915-52 (as Citizenship from 1946-52)
Communications 1972- present
Cooking 1914-72
Cycling 1999- (this or Cycling or Swimming)
Emergency Preparedness 1972- (this or Lifesaving)
Environmental Science 1968- (as Conservation of Natural Resources, 1968-72)
Firemanship 1952-65
First Aid: 1914-present
Hiking 1999- (this or Cycling or Swimming)
Lifesaving: 1914-present (this or Emergency Preparedness, 1972-present)
Nature 1952-65
Pathfinding 1914-52
Personal Fitness 1952-present (this or Swimming or Sports, 1972-)
Personal Health 1918-52
Personal Management 1972-present
Physical Development 1914-52 (this or Athletics)
Pioneering 1914-52
Public Health 1914-65
Safety 1936-99
Soil and Water Conservation 1965-68
Sports 1972-99 (this or Personal Fitness or Swimming)
Swimming 1952-present (this or Personal Fitness or Sports, 1972-99, this or Hiking or Cycling 1999-)
From 1952 to 1965 several groupings of required merit badges were required for Eagle. These included:
One from the Conservation group, 1952- (Forestry, Soil and Water Conservation, Wildlife Management)
Three from the Citizenship group, (Citizenship in the Home, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, World Brotherhood)
One from the Outdoor Sports group (Archery, Athletics, Fishing, Hiking, Horsemanship, Marksmanship, Skiing)
One from the Animal Husbandry, Plant Cultivation, Communication, Transportation, Building (40 badges primarily concerned with various trades and occupations)
In addition, First Aid was required for Life Scout from 1918 to 1972 and for First Class from 1972 to 1989. Also note that though the Swimming merit badge was not required until 1952, it was a prerequisite for the Lifesaving Merit Badge from the 1920s to the 1990s. Eagle has required a total of 21 merit badges from 1911 to 1972 and since 1978 (from 1972 to 1978, it required 24)