This is a great opportunity for Scouts who are interested in woodcarving to see what’s possible, especially those who have not yet completed their Wood Carving merit badges. KCW has welcomed Scouts to their social carving sessions, providing instruction and encouragement for boys working on their merit badges. Why make something from a pre-made kit at camp when your designs are really only limited by your imagination? The Woodcarvers meet several times a week for social carving sessions (those at the Givens Center on Thursdays from 10-3 have been wonderful about helping budding carvers), and monthly for a formal session with speakers. Recommended to call first and let them know that you’re coming; if you tell them in advance, someone can prepare time to help you with your projects.

For those Scouts who have finished a carving (or will have before the event), the show has a “Little Shavers Award” for ages 16 and younger. It’s a no-cost, open entry.

The following persons are registered as MBCs for Sinclair. If you know of others (perhaps ORCA or Thunderbird), would you please let us know?

Jay Klega (see our Meet The Merit Badge Counselor page here)
William Burger
Shane Hilson
Bill Mackley (ask your SM for contact info)
William Gilstrap (ask your SM for contact info)

Happy carving!

Boeing Employees Coin Club help with Merit Badge

At the Boeing Employees Coin Club – Annual Coin Show on January 21st and 22nd the club is going to have a couple of tables set up for the Young Numismatists (YN’s). The goal is to educate and promote the hobby and to make the coin show more interesting for them to participate in. There is going to be a ‘getting started’ display case showing a couple of small easily collectible sets (without having to spend a small fortune as a kid). A video display of how coins are made from design to die and minting will be showed numerous times throughout the show along with how currency is printed. Table/door prizes for the YNs will be given out to each visiting kid.

One of the tables will be set up so a YN/Scout can have an individual merit badge ‘clinic’ so Scouts can work on and nearly complete their merit badge requirements. This table will also include a penny search as the Scout needs to collect a set of coins from their birth year to the current year (pending availability). For the YN’s feeling up to the ‘challenge’ and wanting to see more of the coin show, there is a planned treasure hunt to complete out a 2011 type set from penny to half dollar. Those returning to show their card/type set coins collected to the YN table will get the remaining dollar coin (as supply allows) to complete the set.

For Scouts to complete the merit badge at the coin show, they will need to bring in 5 state quarters (requirement 6) and a set of coins from their birth year to 2011 (option 9d; Scouts who have collections that fulfill 9 a,b, or c are welcomed to bring them instead). The rest of the requirements will be covered at the coin show.

Details:
January 21-22, 2012
Boeing Employees’ Coin Club Show
Kent Commons
525 – 4th Ave. N.
Kent, WA

For more information please contact David Buehler.

Download the flyer here.

There is no cost for the show or the merit badge instruction.
Covered parking is free at the courthouse.

Note: if you are working on your Geocaching badge, there are at least 4 caches within walking distance.

Mr. R has put together general links for the badge. It’s a good window to have open while you’re working.

Requirement 9

Where in the world are you going to get 50 foreign coins? And isn’t that going to be expensive? It doesn’t have to be. Surely, living in this area, you know some military folks. Most of them have been deployed overseas and typically bring back many coins. Spend an evening with some of them, listening to them tell you about their trips, and either borrowing or purchasing the coins from them. Just as we have pennies, most countries have inexpensive coins. It’s very interesting to see the differences, and the things that each country holds dear.

As an alternate choice, 9c lets you collect tokens or medals.

Requirement 10

For requirement #10, most Scouts won’t be able to travel to a U.S. Mint facility, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or a Federal Reserve Bank, but thankfully there are other options.

(Note: There is an excellent cartoon video here that well explains the FRB.)

You can take the easy way out (draw 5 Colonial-era coins), but you might have a lot more fun and learn more by attending a coin show.

Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association – Holds an annual Coin Collecting merit badge day in Portland during October. 2011 date is the 22nd. Pre-registration required for this free event.

Not needed for the badge, but a very cool page on Scouting coins!

Part I consists of an online webinar. The first opportunity for this is Saturday, 11/26/2011 at 9 am (other opportunities will be available). During the webinar, much of the Oceanography worksheet will be covered.

Then, when the weather is a little more cooperative, board the Argosy for a Scout-specific Marine Science Afloat day. Scouts who have attended the webinar and done the assigned work should be able to complete their badges this day.

Enjoy a day out in the (hopefully) sun, learn all about Puget Sound, complete your Oceanography badge, and have a great time!

Who: All registered Boy Scouts (sorry, this is not age-appropriate for Cubs)
Cost: $40 per person (Scout or adult). Note: An adult is not required, but welcomed.
Departure and return – Pier 55 in Seattle
For more information or to register, contact Al Ramsay.

Your merit badge counselor will be Al Ramsay. Al is currently a BSA merit badge Counselor for Oceanography, Fish & Wildlife Management, Mammal Study, Reptile/Amphibian Study, Robotics, Aviation, and Composite Materials. Al is a volunteer at the Seattle Aquarium, Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, The Museum of Flight, and Woodland Park Zoo and teaches on a volunteer basis at each of these facilities. Al is the past CubMaster for Pack 433 in Bellevue and is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithica, New York where he participated in research projects on Pacific Salmon and Atlantic whale migration that led to his current interest in Oceanography and Marine Science. (One of the best parts about the merit badge program is learning from experts!)

Burke Museum
Sat., Dec. 3, 2011 | 10 am – 3 pm
$10 per Boy Scout; troop leaders and all adult chaperones are free

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts are invited to earn their Geology awards at the Burke with a special day of earth science activities. Geologists will be on hand to answer questions and direct activities for earning the Geology Merit Badge, Webelos Geologist Pin, Cub Scout Belt Loop, and Geology Academics Pin. Activities include, mountain building, earth science careers overview, origins of fossils, volcanoes, mining and mineral recovery, Mohs’ scale of hardness and more! A merit badge counselor is available to certify completion.

To register for the Boy Scout Geology program, please contact the Burke Museum’s Education Division at (206) 543-5591 or burked@uw.edu.

Note: When we last went, it was a comprehensive program taught by a PhD, with the assistance of a geological engineer. Scouts who come with an eagerness to learn should be able to complete their badge on a Saturday afternoon. Parents can visit the rest of the museum, or remain with their Scouts (also open to Cubs and Webelos). Workbooks are provided by the Burke.

If you haven’t yet completed your Indian Lore badge, several of the requirements can be fulfilled at the Burke exhibits after you finish Geology. Or take your GPS and explore some of the many Geocaches in the area for your Geocaching badge. This is an especially good idea if you’re taking the ferry and bus.

Directions to the Burke Museum

If you’re fortunate enough to have a scholastic chess club in your school, the badge will be a breeze. For those Scouts who don’t, the badge is still doable. Most tournaments are open to everyone, whether your school participates or not.

Chess teaches logic, strategy, patience, good study habits, and teamwork. Yes, teamwork. A good chess club participates in tournaments as a team, with scores combined and players supporting one another. Like many sports, scholastic chess has a “season”. Tournaments generally begin in November and end in March. Each April, state championships are held for those who qualify in regional tournaments.

If you don’t already play, or if you’d like to hone your skills, here are some local resources:
Kitsap Homeschool Chess – Meets Monday nights at Kitsap Mall. Though originally intended for homeschoolers, all players are welcome.
Kitsap County Chess Club – Mostly adults, though scholastic players welcomed. Meets Wednesday nights at the Kitsap Library.
Tacoma Chess – Open to all ages. Monthly Sunday quad for youth.

Statewide Resources:
Chess4Life – Elliott Ness’ comprehensive WA scholastic site
Washington High School Chess Association
Middle School Chess for the Northwest
Northwest Washington Scholastic Chess
2012 Washington State Elementary Chess Championship

“So I was having dinner with Garry Kasparov – Problem was, we had a checkered tablecloth and it took him two hours to pass the salt”

The Evergreen Aviation Museum (Spruce Goose Museum) has its own Scouting coordinator. In addition to Astronomy, Aviation, and Space Exploration classes throughout the year, hundreds of Scouts get together for the annual Scouting University.

What better place to learn about Aviation than the home of the Spruce Goose and dozens of other aircraft! Instead of simply reading about Space Exploration from a book, enjoy the simulators, the actual crafts, and a rocket launching you’ll not forget inside the Space Museum. Pay a little extra and watch the I-Max Hubble 3-D movie.

It is the Merit Badge University that is the capstone of the Scout education, though. Choose from eleven different badges offered as three-hour or full-day blocks (additional badges may be added). Complete your prerequisites in order to have your blue card signed off. In addition to the day’s offerings, Astronomy happens on the night of the 28th. Camp in the Oak Grove on Friday and/or Saturday night for $7 per person and add days to your camping log. The grove is beautiful, well laid-out, and complete with full bathrooms (including showers).

Morning sessions:
Law
Composite Materials
Fingerprinting

Afternoon sessions:
Law
Fingerprinting

All-day sessions:
Automotive Maintenance
Aviation
First Aid
Photography
Radio
Space Exploration

For Scout groups that are well funded, consider adding a Night Flight. Scouts get to spend the night INSIDE the museum.

SIGN UP HERE, or email Cory Fuqua for more information.

Troops coming through Eugene, OR might consider adding a day to complete their Climbing badges at the Crux Rock Gym.
Troops coming from the North might consider the Railroading badge through Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club, or the Chehalis-Centralia station.

Three different options are offered to the Scout. This is a great badge to do in conjunction with an introductory Biology, Botany, or Life Science course.

requirement 1 – flowering plants

There is an excellent graphic and explanation here. The graphic without the labels may be found here.

requirement 4 – grow

Hint: Radishes grow to fruition in as little as 25 days. Plus, they love the cool, wet weather here in the Northwest.

requirement 5 – native plants

Native plants of Washington

Some visit choices for the different options:

Horticulture: Requirement A

The Horticulture option requires a visit to one of the following: a public garden, arboretum, retail nursery, wholesale nursery, production greenhouse, or conservatory greenhouse.

field botany: requirement E

Rare plants in Washington state.

field botany: requirement F4

Visit the Burke Museum Herbarium.

The requirements are:
a. Write ahead and arrange to visit an herbarium at a university, park, or botanical garden; OR, visit an herbarium website (with your parent’s permission). Yeah, we all know the website option is supposed to be for those people with transportation issues. You’ll get a lot more from it if you visit the website AND the physical location. The UW’s Herbarium is conveniently right next to the Medical Center.

b. Tell how the specimens are arranged and how they are used by researchers. If possible, observe voucher specimens of a plant that is rare in your state. They’re arranged by family, genus, and species. The most common use is by people writing books.

c. Tell how a voucher specimen is mounted and prepared for permanent storage. Tell how specimens should be handled so that they will not be damaged. They’re stored in acid-free, lignin-free paper. While we were there, one volunteer was transferring seeds from thousands of decades-old folded paper into a better quality paper. She had to relabel, by hand, every specimen.

d. Tell about the tools and references used by botanists in an herbarium. Biggest tool they have? A freezer. Yep. Just like you have in your kitchen. They freeze the plants and seeds first to kill bacteria and insects. Very low-tech for a high-tech field!

The web work they’re doing is great! You could spend hours and hours just in the plant identification section. While we were there, Dr. Giblin walked us through several different sections, showing us various ways to search and sort. Who knew there was such diversity in Washington?

This was a very interesting trip. I was surprised at how much there was to know, and can see how someone could make this their life’s mission.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s west coast operations are currently based in Seattle. What a wonderful opportunity for those of us who live here.

Oceanographic Institute

The Marine Operations Center is open for tours by reservation. This tour is brief (less than 60 minutes including a movie), and can easily be combined with a ship tour to get the most out of the trip. Located on the East Side of Lake Union.

USS David Starr Jordan

The David Starr Jordan is a retired research vessel ported at NOAA’s Sand Point facility. A full tour of the three deck ship is available at no charge (tour time is approximately 90 minutes). You will need to pre-arrange tours with Lt. Paul Chamberlain. Scouts’ names need to be made available to security in advance of the tour, and those over 13 should have a photo ID. The tour is mostly inside the ship, although there are very interesting things on the dock and outside as well. There are steep stairs and it is not wheelchair accessible. This is a good tour, especially for those boys who come armed with questions. Lt. Chamberlain is intelligent, engaging, funny, and likely closer to the Scouts’ ages than the SMs . Read Joshua’s field trip report here.

The Sand Point facility is directly north of Warren G. Magnuson park in Seattle.