Area boy scouts earn merit badges, explore career opportunities at Northwest Technical College

Maggi Fellerman, The Bemidji Pioneer, Minn.
·2 min read

May 1—BEMIDJI — From dentistry to fire safety, boy scouts from near and far gathered to learn something new as part of a

Boy Scouts of America

merit badge event on Saturday, April 29, at Northwest Technical College.

One necessity to being a boy scout is earning merit badges. On Saturday, the scouts were on a mission to earn one of the following badges: sport, craft, science, trade, business, or a future career that gives scouts the opportunity to explore new subjects and learn valuable skills.

In some ways, there's basically a merit badge for everything. Some are required for scouts like communication, first aid, family life and personal management, while others like fishing, gardening, pottery, photography or even nuclear science can be chosen according to the scout's personal interests.

"Once or twice a year, we try to get the scouts together so we can do merit badges with them," said Scout Executive Brad Olson. "Merit badges are career explorations or maybe a hobby that the kids could potentially go into when they get older and it's an opportunity to expose them to a specific curriculum and get them a little bit more insight into a different course."

The Boy Scouts of America offers over 135 merit badges to choose from, but scouts are required to earn 21 of them in order to be promoted to Eagle Scout. To earn the badge, the scout must complete the requirements and demonstrate the skills and knowledge of the badge's subject.

Saturday's pick of subjects included fire safety, dentistry, electronics, citizenship in the world, engineering and entrepreneurship. Community members, local professionals and faculty members of NTC volunteered their time to teach the scouts their new skills.

Splitting up into groups, the scouts started the day at 10 a.m., got introduced to the new subject, took a break for lunch and ended the day by proving their newfound knowledge to walk out with a new badge for their collections.

"They're earning their merit badges today to help them advance as they go through the program," Olson said. "Not only is it an opportunity for those kids to earn the badge, but it's also an opportunity for them to get exposure to the college here and see what opportunities might be available for them when they potentially go to college or whatever their future looks like for them."