The Boy Scouts of America have announced a new merit badge, Robotics. Coincidentally, this announcement comes during National Robotics Week.
Requirements for Robotics Merit Badge
To earn the badge, scouts must accomplish a number of robot-related requirements (PDF). They mush design, build, program, and test a robot. Then, they demonstrate the robot and share their engineering notes. Finally, they attend a robotics competition or do research on robotics contests, and explain how robots are used today. For many scouts, this is exciting, since they’re growing up in a world where robots are used for so much.
The Robotics merit badge is part of the Boy Scouts of America’s new emphasis on STEM. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. The Boy Scouts of America’s focus on STEM helps Scouts develop critical skills needed in today’s competitive world. With the addition of this new robotics merit badge, there are now 31 STEM-related merit badges in the BSA badge line-up.
“While the guiding principles of scouting–service to others, leadership, personal achievement, and respect for the outdoors–will never change, we continue to adapt programs to prepare young people for success in all areas of life,” BSA Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca said in a statement.
This is great news for scouts and technology. Boys love tech, and these new interesting fields are great challenges for scouts looking to get ahead. As a result, I hope to see more technology merit badges in the years to come. Technology is a job field with limitless possibilities.
Robotics Camp Helps Earn Robotics Badge
If you want to learn robotics and accomplish a number of the requirements needed for this badge, take a camp. Our summer camps in LEGO Bot Robotics or LEGO Robotics are a great place to start. Unfortunately, our camps don’t cover every aspect of earning the Robotics Badge they do cover a number of them. To see exactly which ones check out this blog article which details specifically which areas of the robotics merit badge our camps cover.
Are you a Scout looking to attain this new Robotics Merit Badge? Have you attained it already? Tell us about it in the comments below.
