We hope that you have been having a good and safe summer! In past years, we have invited hundreds of Scouts to our college campus to participate in our Merit Badge University. This year, we are still planning to hold the event, but will be doing it online, likely over Zoom. We are looking forward to 2020 Merit Badge University, and hope you are too!
The dates for this year’s MBU are November 7th and November 21st!
We will be offering the following badges remotely:
American Business
Art
Chemistry
Chess
Citizenship in the Community
Citizenship in the Nation
Citizenship in the World
Composite Materials
Digital Technology
Electronics
Energy
Engineering
Environmental Science
First Aid
Game Design
Music
Oceanography
Photography
Programming
Pulp and Paper
Public Speaking
Soil and Water Conservation
Sustainability
Textile
The registration price will be only $5.00 per scout. Registration will be tentatively set for Friday, September 4th at 5:00 PM. We will let you know shortly if this date is final.
We are aware the website is out of date and are in the process of updating it.
If you know of anyone else who would like to get updates about this year’s MBU, please have them fill out THIS form.
If you have any questions about this year’s MBU, please contact us at mbu@wpi.edu.
We look forward to seeing you virtually in November!
Troop 25 drove up to Loudon, New Hampshire for the day to check out the 2018 NH Scout Jamboree. Lots of fun activities. Hidden Valley Scout Camp sent up their shotguns and rifles. Sig Sauer sent P320 hand guns and an awesome range was built. Safety was clearly the job number one at the scout range. Lots of trained safety officers and huge berm made this a really cool station.
Woodcarving station was amazing! This station consisted of a scout leader carving life sized giant bears and eagles out of wood. He used chain saws and carving tools. This station leader is the Dad of two Eagle Scouts! There were also rope bridges and towers made by scouts.There was a station of dogs being trained for the blind. One big black lab didn’t make the cut for being a guide dog, because she loved people so much that she couldn’t always remember the work part of being a guide dog! The Guide Dog organization found an excellent home for this ‘nearly’ perfectly trained, beautiful dog.
The hit of World’s Religions station was Mr. Pannu. He is the a scout leader and the the dad of two Eagle Scouts. Mr. Pannu explained to the crowd that gathered around him any questions asked about Sikhism. On the outside of the tent some Scouts were having their heads wrapped in free turbans. The only rules were that the turban wasn’t a joke or to be discarded in a disrespectful manner. The turban is an article of faith and also helps with the wearer’s uncut hair, with differently colored turbans being worn on different occasions. It was interesting to meet Mr. Pannu because the only person of the Sikhism faith that I knew of before was Captain Nemo. Mr. Pannu mentioned that one of his sons wrote a book about his religion, and he is now a Rutgers University student! His other son became an Eagle Scout at age twelve! Mr. Pannu was even in “Scouting Magazine!”
The end of the day was great. I just made it on to the bungee jumping station before it closed. Great people, great fun!
In need of service hours? Come to the Lazarus House in Lawrence, MA! The shelter is sponsored by local churches and local government. Last night they were sheltering 25 people including 6 or 7 children. The shelter lets the people in need stay for a few months. During that time the shelter takes their state support, like food stamps, housing assistance, and welfare money and holds it aside for each guest. (Residents are allowed to have a small allowance.) The shelter helps residents find good jobs, job training, and provides all meals needed. When the few months are up, the residents will ideally have enough money saved for first, last, and security deposit on an apartment of their own. They will also ideally have a job. When the residents move out of the shelter they will be given the option of being taken to a large warehouse to pick out gently used house hold items, clothing and furniture for free. We met at the church at 4:15 PM, gathered the food, drove to the shelter, and returned home by 7:30 PM.
If scouts or parents would like to help, give me an email. There is also a sign up list at the First Congregational Church in Pelham.
The Klondike will be held on Friday, January 27th to the 29th at Camp Carpenter. This is a good way to rack up your frost points and to get camping merit badge requirements.
Klondike Tips!
Equipment – make sure all equipment is present and in good working order – there’s nothing worse than your Team losing points because you didn’t check this out before hand. Packing – Involve your youth in the packing of your sled. Make sure they know what they have, where it is and what it is used for
Practice pulling your sled – Maneuvering the trail, turning corners and going down hills requires skill and practice.
Dress – Make sure your team is dressed appropriately for the weather. Be prepared for cold, wind, and wet.
Know your youth – What are your youth able to do? How far can you push them? Can they handle a full day of Klondike Activities?
Team work – Practice using other team work drills. Establish a fair system for who is “mushing”, running passports etc.
Motivation – Keep the event fun, while challenging them to go a little faster or work a little harder along the way. Once the fun stops, so will their motivation. Be supportive all along, while encouraging and praising hard work.
Scouting Skills – If you’ve been to a Klondike before, the basic skills are tried, tested and almost guaranteed to be there again. Practice these skills. If you’ve never been, practice basic Scouting skills. (Try fire lighting, knots, first aid, compass, lashing)
Register Early – and get the start time you want! Make your team commitment as early as possible to allow time to practice and prepare.
It was a rainy day on the Charles River. Three of our most courageous, intrepid scouts braved everything the weather threw at us and went for an afternoon at SOAR. We threw knives, tomahawks, and even got a free tour of a crime surveillance van courtesy of the police! Over 3,000 scouts were there, having a great time! And we had a great time.
