February 2023
Written by: Adam Riedel, Scoutmaster Troop 899
Summer camp is on the horizon and while we have many, many things to accomplish before we get to start our drive to Camp Bowers, one thing that does need to be completed sooner rather than later is to have our Scouts select the merit badges they would like to register to take a summer camp. As Scoutmaster, I have a few suggestions, recommendations and guidelines that will help you and your Scout make the best selections available.
It is very easy to get wrapped up into taking all Eagle Rank required merit badges. If your Scout comes to us with this plan, they will be turned down immediately and told to reconsider. While summer camp is a great time to complete some of these badges, there are a few things to consider. 1. Almost all Eagle required badges take more than one week. 2. If they are important enough to be required, they are important enough to spend the extra time on them. 3. The work load for these badges is intentionally higher and bogging down a Scout with that level of work during the week, will ruin their summer camp experience. 4. Summer camp is supposed to be fun and there are a lot of badges offered that you can only get during the summer camp experience.
One other important thing to note, our Troop requires Scouts to be at least 13 years old before they are allowed to participate in the Shooting Sports badges. This is non-negotiable, and no it does not matter if a different Troop does not follow the same rules, our Scouts must be 13.
On to the suggestions!
Our first year Scouts will take what is called the “Trail to Adventure”. We try to make sure that they are all registered for the same time slot so they have a more fun through the process. The “Trail to Adventure” course Helps first year Scouts work through almost all of the requirements for Tenderfoot and allows them to start experiencing some of the requirements for Second Class and First Class ranks. These Scouts will spend their week working hard to learn knots, identify plants, learning basic first aid skills and learning more about Scouting. This is a great experience for the Scouts and even includes a night where they venture away from our Troop campsite and hike away from the main camp to set up their own tents and sleep out on their own during “Outpost Night”.
First year Scouts will spend the other half of their day working on merit badges. They will register for three merit badges. We strongly encourage the Scouts to take fun merit badges like Game Design, Animation, Art, Indian Lore, or Leatherwork. They are fun, they are cool looking badges and they teach the Scouts how the merit badge process works. If your Scout is interested in more Scoutcraft based merit badges, I encourage them to consider taking Pioneering and/or Orienteering merit badges. These are what I consider to be “critcal Scout skills” merit badges and are extremely important not only to helping a Scout work through the ranks, but also for life lessons.
2nd year campers, or Scouts who attended last year, should pick 1 or 2 Eagle Scout Rank requried merit badges and then fill their schedule with merit badges that that are best taken at Summer Camp. 2nd year campers should focus on taking full advantage of the waterfront merit badges offered by Camp Bowers. Camp Bowers offers a total of 5 different merit badges through their Aquatics department. This is a great chance for the Scouts to have a blast a camp, while still working on fun merit badges, some of them Eagle Rank required!
Our 3rd year campers can start considering the shooting sports options. I would encourage them to start with Archery, but Rile and Shotgun merit badges are an option. Please not that Rife and Shotgun both require multiple time slots, so the total number of badges that can be earned at camp will be reduced for any Scout that participates. I would also stress that each 3rd year camper take two Eagle Required merit badges. Cooking, First Aid, Emergency Preparedness are all great options to take, but the Citizenship merit badges should considered.
Our 4th and 5th year campers really have free reign to take whatever merit badges they choose, or they can really test their mettle and take the C.O.P.E course. The Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience (COPE) course requires a full morning of the Scouts time, but helps Scouts further develop teambuilding skills, leadership skills and personal development by learning to overcome several of the low rope and high obstacles like zip line, rock climbing and rappelling. This is a great option for all Scouts. HOWEVER, 4th and 5th year campers must have SCOUTMASTER permission to take C.O.P.E. or register for more than THREE Eagle Rank required merit badges.
New for 2023, Camp Bowers will be offering a Friday Merit Badge Program. All Scouts are required to enroll in both a morning and an afternoon course UNLESS they are in a shooting sports merit badge and need the additional time to complete qualifying scores. Scouts will be able to take some additional merit badges during Friday to complete their week.
One of the major reasons we choose Camp Bowers as our Summer Camp of choice is the value they provide. They offer a larger selection of merit badges than any other camp in our region, they offer the best price, they allow our Scouts to take more merit badges than any other camp and the camp staff have been phenomenal hosts to our much larger than average unit.
The next logical question is: How does I sign up for my chosen classes? ASM Doug Gould, is going to help our Scouts do exactly that. He has been working to understand the merit badges our Scouts have already earned, learn the layout of the camp as well as the offerings the Scouts will be able to take this summer. Doug will guide each Scout through the selection and register them for their merit badges after the deposit has been paid for your Scout.
I hope this will help you guide your Scout in selecting their merit badges for this summer. As always, if you, or your Scout has questions, please don’t hesitate to have them come talk with me or Mr. Dan. Dan has served as one of adult leaders for multiple years at summer camp and is a great resource for helping someone understand the time commitment that comes along with merit badge selections. We are here to help make sure your Scouts get the best experience possible this summer.
Eagle Required Merit Badges Offered
Camping
Citizenship in the Nation
Citizenship in the World
Communication
Cooking
Emergency Preparedness
Environmental Science
First Aid
Lifesaving
Personal Fitness
Personal Management
Swimming
Other Merit Badges Offered
Animation
Archery
Architecture
Astronomy
Basketry
Bird Study
Canoeing
Climbing
Electronics
Engineering
Fish & Wildlife Management
Fishing
Forestry
Game Design
Geology
Home Repair
Kayaking
Leatherwork
Model Design & Building
Motorboating
Orienteering
Painting
Pioneering
Plant Science
Pulp & Paper
Rifle
Shotgun
Space Exploration
Weather/Nature
Wilderness Survival
Woodcarving
Friday Merit Badges
Art
Chess
Indian Lore
Inventing
Music
Rowing
Salesmanship
Signs, Signals, & Codes
Small Boat Sailing
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