Badges and bowling

While the rainy, cold weather outside on Saturday, Dec. 8 was frightful, the inside of Auburn United Methodist Church, where Troop 50 Scouts gathered for the annual Merit Badge Day, was delightful. More than half of the troop’s Scouts attended the event to add one more badge to their merit badge sashes – either one of two Eagle-required badges, Citizenship in the Nation or Cooking, or Architecture Merit Badge.

Assistant Scoutmaster Christian Dagg, an associate professor in Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction, and head of its School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, counseled Scouts on Architecture Merit Badge. In addition to familiarizing Scouts with the basics of and careers in the architecture field, it marries Scouting’s emphasis on being conservation-minded with concepts like sustainable architecture and the use of renewable and recycled materials in the build environment.

Assistant Scoutmaster JP Pendleton taught Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge. Requirements help Scouts understand the principles of U.S. citizenship, including one’s rights under the Constitution, Bill of Rights and other subsequent constitutional amendments. It includes a focus on many of the historic milestones behind the founding of our country, as well as how constitutional checks and balances affect how the federal government operates today.

Finally, Chartered Organization Representative Michael Tullier counseled Scouts on Cooking Merit Badge. Classroom instruction includes teaching Scouts about the need for safe food-handling techniques, how to avoid foodborne illnesses, and how to prevent and treat injuries that may occur as part of cooking. The merit badge also helps Scouts incorporate good nutrition standards into their meal planning, and how to read food-packaging labels. Scouts will complete the merit badge requirements as they plan, shop for and cook meals at upcoming campouts, as well as doing the same for meals they plan and cook for their families.

Following the merit badge classes, many of the Scouts participated in a troop outing to go bowling. As the gutters outside continued to collect water from the day’s ongoing rain, the gutters inside the bowling alley were just as busy collecting bowling balls rolled by our budding Scout bowlers.

For more pictures from the troop’s Merit Badge Day, visit the troop’s online photo album.