Scout working on the American Heritage Merit Badge are invited to join Scoutmaster Robertson in the Westminster Room at RPC this Thursday, November 17, at 6:30 p.m.

For those scouts working on the American Heritage Merit Badge, Mr. Robertson will be available in the Westminster Room (downstairs) at 6:30 p.m. this Thursday, October 27, to work on the badge.

The Boy Scout Coin Collecting Merit Badge Program will be held at the West Suburban Coin & Collectibles Expo in Countryside, on Sunday, November 13 beginning at 10:00 a.m. The show is located at Park Place Banquet Hall, 6200 Joliet Rd, Countryside. To reserve space, please RSVP to Kevin Wasmer at 630-399-9060 or kwasmer@comcast.net. (This is a very well-done program, and the scouts come home with a lot of neat stuff.)

Scouts who are working on the American Heritage Merit Badge are invited to come to the Westminster Room at RPC (lower level) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 13.

Scouts who are interested in working on the Reading Merit Badge are invited to meet Mrs. Lanken at the North Riverside library this Thursday, October 6, at 7:30 p.m.

A Coin Collecting Merit Badge Program will be held at the West Suburban Coin & Collectibles Expo in Countryside. The program is scheduled for Sunday, November 13, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The show is located at Park Place Banquet Hall, 6200 Joliet Rd, Countryside. To reserve space, please RSVP to Kevin Wasmer at 630-399-9060 or kwasmer@comcast.net.

All scouts who are interested in working on the American Heritage Merit Badge are invited to meet in the Westminster Room at RPC (smaller room in the lower level) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 22. Scouts should bring the American Heritage worksheet, which can be found here: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/8/8f/American_Heritage.pdf and a copy of the Merit Badge book, if they have one. Additional meetings will be scheduled for Thursdays at 6:30.

Some scouts signed up for merit badge classes at Camp Mach that may be difficult to complete at camp unless they work on some requirements before they leave. If a scout does not complete a merit badge while at camp, a partial completion will be issued, stating which requirements were successfully completed. The scout can finish the remaining requirements after finding a merit badge counselor through the Council. A couple of other merit badge classes require you to bring specific supplies to camp. In case you don’t remember what you signed up for, here are the merit badges that may not be able to be completed entirely at camp without advance work:

REQUIRE WORK BEFORE CAMP

Camping – Andersen, Gomorczak, Hartwig, Johnson, K.Kodama – Camping Requirement 9 requires a scout to have completed 20 days and nights of camping as well as specific activities on those camp-outs

Cooking – Buckley, Buffo, Cervanka, Connelly, Corrigan, Hajer, Kinnan, R.Kodama, Korslund, Lennon, B.Lulich, Lynch, McCoy, A. Ourth, Ozga, Pipal, Robertson, Robling, Skiest – Cooking Requirements 3 & 4 require that the scout plan a 2-day campout menu and prepare 4 of the meals. Requirement 7 requires that a scout plan and prepare meals at home.

Environmental Science – Andersen, Corrigan, Gryczan, Hartwig, Johnson, Lennon, Salij, Skiest – Environmental Science Requirement 3e requires research on an endangered species found in Illinois. This should be done prior to camp.

Orienteering – Lanken, Mercado, Quinn – Orienteering Requirement 7 requires that the scout take part in 3 orienteering events and write a report on each one. Requirement 8 requires the scout to set up an orienteering course.

Pioneering – Lanken, Mercado, Suriano – Pioneering Requirement 2 requires completion of 1st Class requirement 7a, b, c. Requirement 9 requires design and construction of a pioneering project.

Reptile & Amphibian Study – Suriano – Reptile & Amphibian Requirement 8 requires keeping a reptile or amphibian as a pet for at least one month and keeping a log of its care.

REQUIRE SUPPLIES TO BE BROUGHT TO CAMP

Swimming – first year campers plus Corrigan, Dunn, Flaherty, Lemon, Quinn, Suriano, Williams, Zalewski – Swimming Requirement 4 requires the following items – each scout should bring his own: long pants, long-sleeve button-up shirt, socks, old shoes, all of which will go in the water

Wilderness Survival – Bensfield, Gomorczak, Hoadley, McCoy – Scouts should be aware that this class requires them to build a shelter from natural materials, and spend a night in the shelter. Wilderness Survival Requirement 5 requires scouts to make a personal survival kit. Supplies for the kit should be brought to camp. An example of a survival kit can be found here: http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/film_can/survival_kit.html

REQUIRE PURCHASE OF KITS AT CAMP (BRING MONEY) OR PRIOR TO CAMP (AT SCOUT STORE).

Basketry – Buffo, Corrigan – Few scouts complete all three basket projects while at camp. It helps to have at least one done at home prior to camp.

Leatherwork – Derosier, Dunn, Flaherty, Lemon, Suriano

Woodcarving – Aieta, Derosier, Dunn, Gryczan, Hajer, R.Kodama, Korslund, Lemon, B.Lulich, E.Ourth, Quinn, Suriano, Williams

The American Numismatic Association will be sponsoring a Coin Collecting Merit Badge workshop on Saturday, August 20, noon-2:00 p.m., at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Some of our scouts have taken this workshop in the past, and it’s very well done. Please refer to the pre-requisites on the information form. If you plan to attend this workshop, you must obtain a blue card from a Troop 24 Scoutmaster to take with you.

Mrs. Lanken invites all scouts to read over the summer and then meet with her in September to complete the Reading merit badge. You may have already signed up for a library summer reading program, or are reading books for school, so why not earn the merit badge at the same time? To get started, view the requirements, print out the worksheet, and start reading!

For the requirements for the Reading merit badge, visit:
http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Reading
For the Worksheet:
http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/5/56/Reading.pdf