merit badge basics

  • Scouting offers more than 130 merit badges!
  • Some badges are required to advance to the next rank, and these are the badges we focus on as a troop in Merit Badge Tuesday sessions and during outings and events.
  • Other merit badges simply allow you to explore and learn about topics you are interested in -- take a look at the list of every single merit badge here!
  • You may work on a merit badge with any registered counselor. In Troop 1 many adult leaders are also counselors, but if there is a badge you'd like to work on that our troop doesn't offer, you can find a list of counselors in other Piedmont troops at the Council Office. Additionally, there are many opportunities to take merit badges at other Scouting events, including summer camp.​

merit badge resources 

For every merit badge there is a pamphlet -- a booklet that lists the requirements and includes helpful information that will help you complete them. You can buy merit badge pamphlets at the Piedmont Scout Store for about $6. 

For every badge there is also a worksheet -- a list of the requirements with space to write your responses to each requirement prompt or question.

Most of what you need to learn for any merit badge, however, is free. You can find reliable information about worksheets at scouting.org and usscouts.org. You'll also learn what you need for each badge by doing, asking, interviewing, exploring, trying, building, and helping others as you work through and complete the requirements.
​For every merit badge you take, the most important things are:
  1. Learn the skills and information for the badge
  2. Document your progress in your merit badge workbook. Your counselor will let you know which requirements you have completed during Merit Badge Tuesday meetings.
  3. Seek guidance from an approved counselor when you have questions

Merit badge tuesday

work on Eagle-required badges in small groups during troop meetings

​See Eagle-required merit badges HERE

what to bring

  • Please bring a pen or pencil and your own merit badge worksheet to every meeting.
  • Links to blank worksheets that you can print are below.
  • Optional but recommended -- the relevant merit badge pamphlet, available to buy at the Piedmont Council Scout Store.​
Sessions rotate based on Scout needs and counselor availability. You can expect to see these badges offered during the year:
  • Citizenship in the Community
  • Citizenship in the Nation
  • Citizenship in Society
  • Citizenship in the World​
  • Communication
  • Cooking
  • Family Life
  • First Aid​
  • Personal Fitness
  • Personal Management

SPRING session: feb. 13, march 12, april 16

Citizenship medley

  • For senior Scouts (First Class and above)
  • Work on outstanding requirements across multiple badges​​​

cooking

Requirements are HERE
Print worksheets HERE

communication

Requirements are HERE
Print worksheets HERE

how to complete partial merit badges

figure out what you've done so far

  • If you are unsure of what requirements were covered in Merit Badge Tuesday sessions, ask your counselor or search the Google Group for your counselor's post listing what was done by the end of the session. 
  • If you worked on a badge at summer camp or elsewhere, you should locate your worksheet and any physical or electronic "blue card" that documents your progress. Bring or email these to Ms. Gaffikin so your Troopmaster record can be updated.​​​

complete any requirements that you can do independently

  • Look at the list of requirements for your partial. Are there requirements you can complete independently? Examples are:
    • Explaining something in your own words by responding to a question in your workbook (e.g., describing safety procedures for some of the First Aid requirements).
    • Writing down a list of options or examples to complete a requirement in your workbook (e.g., a shopping list for Cooking, a list of careers in personal fitness for that badge).
    • Sometimes you will need to find out additional information to complete independent work. The pamphlet for your merit badge is good place to start (you can buy it at the Piedmont Council office) but often you will also need to look up information online (remember to consider how reliable your source is, and reflect on why you can trust what it says!) or in books.
  • ​Look at requirements that require interviewing or talking to a knowledgable adult or attending a public meeting. Sometimes you can do this over email (remember to always cc another adult such as your parent when you do this) or Zoom.
    • ​Practice good notetaking. Prepare a list of questions in advance. If you are talking to someone in person or over the phone, listen carefully to what they and write down bullet points as you go to help you remember what they said.
    • Remember, you are looking for answers to your questions. You don't need to write down or report everything your interview subject says!​

asking a counselor for help

  • Merit Badge counselors are always ready to guide you as you complete your merit badge! ​
  • You can find a counselor for any of the Eagle-required badges among the adult leaders with our troop. 
  • Do you have a partial for a more specialized badge? Call or email the Council Office and ask if there is a registered councilor within the Council who can help you.
  • What if you can't find a registered counselor locally? Please ask the Council and/or Ms. Gaffikin for advice! 
​Remember: Many badges have requirements that you must cover independently and outside Merit Badge Tuesday sessions. It's okay to take your time! Some badges, like Cooking, Personal Fitness, and Personal Management, require tracking and logging activities over weeks or months.

finishing up

  • ​When you have finished everything in your worksheet, bring it to your counselor in person or make a clear copy and email it (cc another adult!). Congratulations on your hard work!​