Nova and Supernova Awards Program
for
Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts,
Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts,
Venturers, and Sea Scouts

The requirements listed on this site are taken from the
Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturer Nova Awards Guidebooks (34032 / SKU-614935) (34033 / SKU-614936) (34031 / SKU-614934) 2012 Printing

STEM is an acronym representing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

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Nova Awards

The Nova awards are available to all youth registered in the BSA.  There are awards designed for youth in the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing programs, and are optional in each program. Requirements must be completed while registered in the BSA in the appropriate program and subject to standard age limitations.

There are four Nova awards in each program — one for each STEM area — and a member can earn all four in each program level. Completion of any Nova award earns a youth member the right to wear the Nova award patch. Completion of each additional STEM Nova award is recognized by a pi (π) pin placed on the patch. Each award builds on the STEM-related topic, involves hands-on activities, and often includes a field trip.

Supernova Awards

The Supernova awards recognize superior achievement in the STEM fields and require significantly more effort than the Nova awards. There is one Supernova award available to Cub Scouts, one available to Webelos Scouts, two available to Boy Scouts, and three to Venturers.

For complete requirements and more information about the Nova and Supernova awards, refer to the appropriate Nova Awards Guidebook, or go to www.scouting.org/stem.aspx.

The requirements for each of the awards are also available on this site and may be found using the links below. 

We have also created workbooks for use in documenting progress toward earning the various Nova and Supernova awards. There are links to the workbooks at the bottom of the web pages for each award.

• The word processor versions of the workbooks have been prepared using the Microsoft Office 365 Suite (Word 2013) and are in the DOCX file format, which was introduced in 2007.  Consequently, in many cases they are NOT compatible with earlier versions on Microsoft Office or other word processors which do not support that file format. However, users of Microsoft Office XP, 2000 and 2003 can download a Compatibility Pack, by clicking here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3. By installing the Compatibility Pack you will be able to use Microsoft Office XP, 2000, or 2003 to open, edit, and save files using the file formats in newer versions of Word (DOCX), Excel (XLSX), and PowerPoint (PPTX) .
• The PDF versions of the workbooks have been designed with form fields.  Scouts may download these files and then type their notes into the form fields, and save their work locally.  They have been tested successfully with the Adobe Acrobat Reader, the Foxit PDF Reader, and the Nuance PDF Reader.  Each of those programs are available as free downloads.

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