STEM Outreach via Scouting Merit Badges

21 February 2024 10:00 - 11:00

Implementing STEM outreach via scouting merit badges is an effective way to engage young minds. It provides hands-on experiences, fostering interest in science, technology, engineering, and math while aligning with the educational goals of scouting programs.

The Scout Merit Badge program exposes boys and girls from grade 6 to 12 to a wide variety of hobby and career subjects. With 1 million youth members in USA and over 50 million world-wide, the Scout Merit Badge program is an important way to expose highly goal oriented youth to a career in optics and photonics. On average each merit badge is earned by 10,000 to 15,000 Scouts each year. This presentation reviews which Merit Badges have ‘optics’ related requirements and provides suggestions for how to incorporate optics content into their instruction.