This program is approximately four hours long.

Requirements Covered

The program covers requirements 1e, 2 and 5 for the American Cultures Merit Badge.

Required Before Class

Complete the following requirements before attending:

• Requirement 1: Do one of the following, choosing a different group for each:
  • (a) Go to a festival, celebration, or other event identified with one of the groups. Report on what you see and learn.
  • (b) Go to a place of worship, school, or other institution identified with one of the groups. Report on what you see and learn.
  • (c) Talk with a person from one of the groups about the heritage and traditions of the group. Report on what you learn.
  • (d) Learn a song, dance, poem, or story that is traditional to one group, and teach it to a group of your friends.
• Requirement 3: Tell about some differences between the religious and social customs of the three groups. Tell about some ideas or ways of doing things that are similar in the three groups.
• Requirement 4: Tell about a contribution made to our country by three different people, each from a different racial, ethnic, or religious background.

Additional Work After Class

No additional work is required if all prework and in-class requirements are completed. Scouts who do not complete all requirements may receive a partial completion and finish remaining work with a merit badge counselor.

This program requires active participation and takes place in our Visitor Center Classroom.

This program is approximately four hours long.

Requirements Covered

The program covers requirements 1 and 2e for the American Heritage Merit Badge.

Required Before Class

Complete the following requirements before attending:

• Requirement 2: Do one of the following:
  • (b) With your counselor's approval, choose an organization that has promoted some type of positive change in American society. Find out why the organization believed this change was necessary and how it helped to accomplish the change. Discuss how this organization is related to events or situations from America's past.
  • (c) With your counselor's approval, interview two veterans of the U.S. military. Find out what their experiences were like. Ask the veterans what they believe they accomplished.
  • (d) With your counselor's approval, interview three people in your community of different ages and occupations. Ask these people what America means to them, what they think is special about this country, and what American traditions they feel are important to preserve.
• Requirement 3: Do one of the following:
  • Select a topic related to the United States that is currently in the news. Describe to your counselor what is happening. Explain how today's events are related to or affected by the events and values of America's past.
  • (b) For the following, describe its adoption, tell about any changes since its adoption, and explain how each one continues to influence Americans today: the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Great Seal of the United States, the motto, and the national anthem.
  • (c) Research your family's history. Find out how various events and situations in American history affected your family. If your family immigrated to America, tell the reasons why. Share what you find with your counselor.
• Requirement 4: Do one of the following:
  • Explain the National Register of Historic Places and how a property becomes eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Make a map of your local area, marking the points of historical interest. Tell about any National Register properties in your area. Share the map with your counselor and describe the historical points you have indicated.
  • Research an event of historical importance that took place in or near your area. If possible, visit the place. Tell your counselor about the event and how it affected local history. Describe how the area looked then and what it now looks like.
  • Find out when, why, and how your town or neighborhood started, and what ethnic, national, or racial groups played a part. Find out how the area has changed over the past 50 years and try to explain why.
  • Take an active part in a program about an event or person in American history. Report to your counselor about the program, the part you took, and the subject.
• Requirement 5: Do one of the following:
  • Watch two motion pictures (with the approval and permission of your counselor and parent or guardian) that are set in some period of American history. Describe to your counselor how accurate each film is with regard to the historical events depicted and also with regard to the way the characters are portrayed.
  • Read a biography (with your counselor's approval) of someone who has made a contribution to America's heritage. Tell some things you admire about this individual and some things you do not admire. Explain why you think this person has made a positive or a negative contribution to America's heritage.
  • Listen to recordings of popular songs from various periods of American history. Share five of these songs with your counselor, and describe how each song reflects the way people felt about the period in which it was popular. If a recording is not available, have a copy of the lyrics available.
• Requirement 6: Discuss with your counselor the career opportunities in American heritage. Pick one that interests you and explain how to prepare for this career. Discuss what education and training are required for this career.

This program is approximately four hours long.

Requirements Covered 

The program covers requirements 1-3, 5-7 and 10 of the Archaeology Merit Badge

Required Before Class

Complete the following requirements before attending:

• Requirement 4: Learn about a combined total of five archaeological sites located both within and outside the United States.
  • (a) For EACH site you research, point it out on a map and explain how it became known to archaeologists. Describe some of the information about the past that has been found at each site. Explain how the information gained from the study of these sites answers questions that archaeologists are asking and how the information may be important to modern people. Compare the relative ages of the sites you research.
  • (b) Choose ONE of the sites you picked and give a short presentation about your findings to a Cub Scout pack, your Scout troop, your school class, or another group.
• Requirement 8: Research a group of people who lived in your area more than 100 years ago. Find out about their ways of life, including housing, clothing, arts and crafts, tools, trade and markets, rituals and religions, and diets, and their relationships with other groups of people in the area. Describe what you would expect to find at an archaeological site where these people lived. Explain how these people influenced your current community.
• Requirement 9: Explore careers related to this merit badge. Research one career to learn about the training and education needed, costs, job prospects, salary, job duties, and career advancement. Your research methods may include—with your parent or guardian's permission—an internet or library search, an interview with a professional in the field, or a visit to a location where people in this career work. Discuss with your counselor both your findings and what about this profession might make it an interesting career.
• Requirement 11: Under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist or instructor, do ONE of the following:
  • (a) Help prepare an archaeological exhibit for display in a museum, visitor center, school, or other public area.
  • (b) Use the methods of experimental archaeology to re-create an item or to practice a skill from the past. Write a brief report explaining the experiment and its results.

This program is approximately four hours long.

Requirements Covered 

The program covers requirements 1, 2b, 3b and 6 of the Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge.

Required Before Class

• Requirement 2: Do the following:
  • Using an electronic mapping tool or paper map, locate and pinpoint the following services and landmarks in your community. Determine and record the distances from your home including driving time AND either walking or biking time.
  • Chief government buildings such as your city hall, county courthouse, and public works/services facilities
    • (2) Fire station, police station, and hospital nearest your home
    • (3) Parks, playgrounds, recreation areas, and trails
    • (4) Historical or other interesting points of interest
• Requirement 3: Attend an in-person meeting of your city, town, or county council or school board, local court session; OR another state or local governmental meeting approved in advance by your counselor.
• Requirement 4: Choose an issue that is important to the citizens of your community; then do the following:
  • Find out which branch of local government is responsible for this issue.
  • With your counselor's and a parent or guardian's approval, interview one person from the branch of government you identified in requirement 4(a). Ask what is being done about this issue and how young people can help.
  • Share what you have learned with your counselor.
• Requirement 5: With the approval of your counselor and a parent or guardian, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a positive effect on a community. Discuss with your counselor what you learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and concerned member of the community.
• Requirement 7: Do the following:
  • Identify three charitable organizations outside of Scouting that interest you and bring people in your community together to work for the good of your community.
  • Pick one of the organizations you chose for requirement 7(a). Using a variety of resources (including newspapers, fliers and other literature, the internet, volunteers, and employees of the organization), find out more about this organization.
• With your counselor's and your parent or guardian's approval, contact the organization you chose for requirement 7(b), and find out what young people can do to help. While working on this merit badge, volunteer at least eight hours of your time for the organization. After your volunteer experience is over, discuss what you have learned with your counselor.
• Requirement 8: Develop a public presentation (such as a video, slide show, speech, digital presentation, or photo exhibit) about important and unique aspects of your community. Include information about the history, cultures, and ethnic groups of your community; its best features and popular places where people gather; and the challenges it faces. Stage your presentation in front of your counselor or a group, such as your patrol or a class at school.

This program is approximately four hours long.

Requirements Covered 

The program covers requirements 1-4 and 7a of the Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge.

Required Before Class

• Requirement 5: Watch the national evening news for five days in a row or read the main stories in a national media organization (e.g., a newspaper or news website) for five days in a row. Discuss the national issues that you learned about with your counselor. Choose one issue and explain how it affects you, your family, and community.
• Requirement 6: With your counselor's approval, choose a speech of national historical importance. Explain:
  • Who the author was
  • What the historical context was
  • What difficulties the nation faced that the author wished to discuss
  • What the author said
  • Why the speech is important to the nation's history
  • Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why.
• Requirement 7: Do one of the following:
  • (b) Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor what you learned about the capitol, its function, and the history.
  • (c) Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw and what you learned about its function in the local community and how it serves this nation.
  • (d) Choose a United States national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the internet (with your parent or guardian's permission), and other resources, find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned and explain why the monument is important to this country's citizens.
• Requirement 8: Name your representatives in the United States Congress. Write to your representative in Congress explaining your views on a national issue. Show your correspondence, along with any response you receive, to your counselor.

This program is approximately four hours long.

Requirements Covered 

The program covers requirements 1-3, 6-7d of the Coin Collecting Merit Badge.

Required Before Class

• Requirement 4: Do the following and explain to your counselor the design features, designer name, designer initials, and where to find them for each item:
  • (a) Collect a one-cent coin from the year group: 1959-2008 (that is, dated between 1959 and 2008) and a one-cent coin from the year group 2010-present. Explain how and why the one-cent coins issued in 2009 were different from either of the other two year groups.
  • (b) Collect two five-cent coins, one from each of these year groups: 1959-2003 and 2006-present. Explain how and why the five-cent coins issued in 2004-2005 were different from either of the other two year groups.
  • (c) Collect a ten-cent coin from 1965-present.
  • (d) Collect a twenty-five-cent coin from 1965-1998, two examples from the 50-State Quarter® /territories Program 1999-2009, two designs from the America the Beautiful® program 2010-2021 and two designs from the American Woman Quarter® program (2022-2024). Explain the purpose of each of those programs.
  • (e) Collect a half dollar coin from 1965-present
  • (f) Collect a dollar coin from the following design groups: Susan B. Anthony 1979-1981, 1999, Sacagawea 2000-2008, U.S. Presidents 2007-2016, 2020.

This program is approximately four hours long.

Requirements Covered

The program covers requirements 1a-c, 4a-b, 4e, 8a-c and 9 of the Genealogy Merit Badge.

Required Before Class

• Requirement 2: Do one of the following:
  • (a) Create a timeline for yourself or for a relative. Then write a short biography based on that time line.
  • (b) Keep a journal for six weeks. You must write in it at least once a week.
• Requirement 3: With your parent or guardian's help, choose a relative or a family acquaintance you can interview in person, by telephone, or by email or letter. Record the information you collect so you do not forget it.
• Requirement 4: Do the Following:
  • (c) Obtain at least one genealogical document that supports an event that is or can be recorded on your pedigree chart or family group record.
  • (d) Tell how you found it and how you would evaluate the genealogical information you found for requirement 4(c).
• Requirement 5: Contact one of the following individuals or institutions. Ask what genealogical services, records, or activities this individual or institution provides, and report the results:
  • (a) A genealogical or lineage society
  • (b) A professional genealogist (someone who gets paid for doing genealogical research)
  • (c) A surname organization, such as your family's organization
  • (d) A genealogical educational facility or institution
  • (e) A genealogical record repository of any type (courthouse, genealogical library, state or national archive, state library, etc.)
• Requirement 6: Begin your family tree by listing yourself and include at least two additional generations. You may complete this requirement by using the chart provided in the Genealogy merit badge pamphlet or the genealogy software program of your choice.
• Requirement 7: Complete a family group record form, listing yourself and your brothers and sisters as the children. On another family group record form, show one of your parents and his or her brothers and sisters as the children. This requirement may be completed using the chart provided or the genealogy software program of your choice.
• Requirement 9: Discuss what you have learned about your family and your family members through your genealogical research.

• Requirements Covered: All
• Length: 1.5 hours

• Requirements Covered: All
• Length: 1.5 hours

• Requirements Covered: All
• Length: 1.5 hours

• Requirements Covered: All
• Length: 1.5 hours

• Requirements Covered: All
• Length: 1.5 hours

• Requirements Covered: All
• Length: 1.5 hours

• Requirements Covered: All
• Length: 1.5 hours