Scouting Heritage

1. Discuss with your counselor the life and times of Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell. Explain why he felt a program like Scouting would be good for the young men of his day. Include in your discussion how Scouting was introduced in the United States, and the origins of Boy Scouting and Cub Scouting under Baden-Powell.
2. Do the following:
   1. Give a short biographical summary of any TWO of the following, and tell of their roles in how Scouting developed and grew in the United States prior to 1940.
      1. Daniel Carter Beard
      2. William D. Boyce
      3. Waite Phillips
      4. Ernest Thompson Seton
      5. James E. West
   2. Discuss the significance to Scouting of any TWO of the following:
      1. Brownsea Island
      2. The First World Scout Jamboree
      3. Boy Scout Handbook
      4. Boys' Life magazine
3. Discuss with your counselor how Scouting's programs have developed over time and been adapted to fit different age groups and interests (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Exploring, Venturing)
4. Do ONE of the following:
   1. Attend either a BSA national jamboree, OR world Scout jamboree, OR a national BSA high-adventure base. While there, keep a journal documenting your day-to-day experiences. Upon your return, report to your counselor what you did, saw, and learned. You may include photos, brochures, and other documents in your report.
   2. Write or visit the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas.* Obtain information about this facility. Give a short report on what you think the role of this museum is in the Scouting program.
   3. Visit an exhibit of Scouting memorabilia or a local museum with a Scouting history gallery, or (with your parent's permission and counselor's approval) visit with someone in your council who is recognized as a dedicated Scouting historian or memorabilia collector. Learn what you can about the history of Boy Scouting. Give a short report to your counselor on what you saw and learned.
   *If you visited the BSA's traveling tour, Adventure Base 100, in 2010, you may use that experience to fulfill requirement 4b.
5. Learn about the history of your unit or Scouting in your area. Interview at least two people (one from the past and one from the present) associated with your troop. These individuals could be adult unit leaders, Scouts, troop committee members, or representatives of your troop's chartered organization. Find out when your unit was originally chartered. Create a report of your findings on the history of your troop, and present it to your patrol or troop or at a court of honor, and then add it to the troop's library. This presentation could be in the form of an oral/written report, an exhibit, a scrapbook, or a computer presentation such as a slide show.
6. Make a collection of some of your personal patches and other Scouting memorabilia. With their permission, you may include items borrowed from family members or friends who have been in Scouting in the past, or you may include photographs of these items. Show this collection to your counselor, and share what you have learned about items in the collection. (There is no requirement regarding how large or small this collection must be.)
7. Reproduce the equipment for an old-time Scouting game such as those played at Brownsea Island. You may find one on your own (with your counselor's approval), or pick one from the Scouting Heritage merit badge pamphlet. Teach and play the game with other Scouts.
8. Interview at least three people (different from those you interviewed for requirement 5) over the age of 40 who were Scouts. Find out about their Scouting experiences. Ask about the impact that Scouting has had on their lives. Share what you learned with your counselor.

Due to the scheduled relocation of the National Scouting Museum from Irving Texas to the Philmont Scout Ranch,
the instructions in the following note, for a method of completing requirement 4b, changed effective April 1, 2017.
Scouts should no longer address their letters or e-mail to Joe Connole at the museum in Irving, TX.
The National Scouting Museum in Texas will remain open for visitors through Sept. 4, 2017.
It is scheduled to open at Philmont Scout Ranch in 2018.

NOTE: Scouts that wish to use Option b for completing Requirement 4, and choose to write the National Scouting Museum, must contact send a letter or e-mail to the address below. If they do, they'll get a response with a letter, and a brochure. Here's the procedure:

• First, write a letter or email to the museum
• Scouts must include the following information: first and last name, current Scout rank and their mailing address.
• Then send the letter, with their parent's permission, either by email to (philmont.museums@scouting.org) or via regular mail to:
  • Scouting Heritage Merit Badge Request
    Philmont Museums
    17 Deer Run Road
    Cimarron, NM 87714
• If a troop is working on the merit badge, they can write a single letter as long as each Scout signs and writes his name and rank, showing that he worked on the letter.
• Parents or leaders should verify that the Scout's information appears legible and is accurate; A number of letters every year are received where the Scout's information isn't legible or is inaccurate.
• Then, wait for a response.
  Scouts will receive a letter, fact sheet, and brochure, which they can then use to prepare their report, and as proof that they followed the above procedure.
• Scouts should allow at least three weeks for a response.
• Information will not be sent to counselors or Scoutmasters, only to Scouts working on the merit badge.

Scouts send in more than 1,000 letters every year (in 2013, that accounted for 28 percent of all Scouts who earned this MB), and while the museum staff strives to send information within three weeks, there are times when that is not possible.

BSA Advancement ID#: 143
Requirements last updated in: 2014
Pamphlet Stock Number: 35970
Pamphlet SKU Number: 619355
Pamphlet Revision Date: 2014

Blanks in this worksheets table appear when we do not have a worksheet for the badge that includes these requirements.