Archives for February 2013

Golf merit badge session added for March 9

For scouts who were unable to attend the golf merit badge skills session last November, we’re going to hold an additional session at the Winnetka Golf Club from 1:30-3:00 pm on Saturday, March 9. You can sign up using our online form at http://tinyurl.com/troop18signup .

Thanks to the Winnetka Park District and Assistant Scoutmaster Clay McLaughlin for putting this together!

Welcome, Webelos

Troop 18 is inviting Winnetka’s Webelos (and their parents) to visit us on Tuesday, March 5, from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm. We’d like you to have a chance to meet our scouts (and parents) and to answer any questions you may have about out troop.

The PDF file below contains the details for the invitation. We hope to see you there!

InvitationFromTroop18

Update on Astronomy merit badge

Scouts who attended the first part of our Astronomy merit badge work at Northwestern’s Dearborn Observatory should be continuing to read their merit badge pamphlets and prepare for the next leg of our journey.

We’re fortunate to have made contact with a volunteer from the Skokie Valley Astronomers club, who will be helping us learn more about astronomy, recognize the stars and planets in our night sky, and meet merit badge requirements.

Look for more information here in the blog and at a troop meeting in the near future.

If you weren’t able to attend the program at the Dearborn Observatory, you can still start working on the badge. Let Mr. McLaughlin or Mr. Hess know if you’re interested in getting started.

Something’s cooking!

Cooking is an important part of scouting, and not just because no one wants to go hungry on a campout.

Meal planning and cooking are part of the requirements for advancement to Second Class and First Class; teaching cooking to younger scouts is a requirement for Life Scout. In 2014, the Cooking merit badge becomes a requirement for Eagle Scout.

The Cooking merit badge requirements are being revised for 2014, and should be released sometime this year.

Scouts who have started working on the badge using the current requirements will have the option to complete the badge under the old requirements, or switch to the new requirements.

Survey: Trip to Harley-Davidson Museum for engineering merit badge

In addition to its many exhibits, the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee offers a scouting program to meet many of the requirements for the Engineering merit badge.

If you’re interested in a Troop 18 trip to the Museum, please cast your vote in the online survey.

Scout’s honor: One vote per Troop member.

Signup open for two merit badge programs

Troop 18 is organizing programs for the Automotive Maintenance and Nuclear Science merit badges.

The Automotive Maintenance merit badge workshop will be held on Saturday, February 16 from 3pm – 4:30pm at Fields BMW in Northfield. A technician from Fields BMW will help the scouts learn and perform the requirements for the badge.

The Nuclear Science merit badge workshop will be held on Thursday, March 14, from 1pm-3pm at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Winnetka District 36 has conference days scheduled for Thursday-Friday March 14-15, so we’ve been able to schedule a session at Fermilab on a weekday — all Saturdays in 2013 were booked months ago. The workshop is part of the Lab’s education program, and will complete all of the requirements for the merit badge.

If more than five scouts sign up, we’ll need additional parents to drive. The tentative plan is to leave Winnetka at 11:30am for the drive to the lab, which is located in Warrenville.

You can sign up for both of these troop-sponsored merit badge programs using the online form at http://tinyurl.com/troop18signup.

2013 Camp Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan information now posted

There’s a new web site for the Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan Scout Reservation operated by the Northeast Illinois Council, including a list of more than five dozen merit badges and multiple High Adventure programs being offered this year. Troop 18 will be at Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan from July 14-20 this summer. Information on signup and fees will be coming out soon.