With the 2012 season events beginning, I would like to suggest a resource for rookies and rookie teams, as well as boy scouts on FIRST teams. The Boy Scouts of America Robotics Merit Badge (RMB) book is an excellent and concise resource. It is a great introduction into robotics. The requirements line up well with the robot build principles and features of FIRST. I encourage rookies, mentors and parents to consider this document. FIRST robotics is prominently featured as a premier example of youth robotics education.
The upcoming build season is an excellent opportunity for Boy Scouts, who are FIRST students, to pursue the BSA RMB. You could also use Lego, Boe-bot or VEX systems to satisfy the RMB requirements. The experience of FLL and so many other robotic competitions apply too. The attachment is a list of the requirements as well as a resource list. Just go to your local BSA trading post or council office and get a copy of the RMB book for about $4.49 as listed on the BSA site www.scoutstuff.org.
I’m a four year FIRST alum and got my Eagle Scout rank so I’m familiar with both organizations and this is a great bridge between the two. I aged out before the badge was offered, but was fortunate to be on the writing team for the merit badge book. Really curious to see what everyone thinks of the book as a resource.
I’ll second the fact that it is a great reference, as are most BSA Merit Badge Books.
While on the topic, has anyone out there completed or worked with someone who has completed the badge based on FRC work.
The reason I ask is National is pushing scouts and MB Counselors to go the route of Lego Mindstorms, and I’m interested to see how the requirements are getting applied with FRC.
BSA is not promoting any particular robot system or robot competition league. Lego, Boe-bot and VEX have systems that are promoted as candidates for the Robotics Merit badge (RMB) build requirements. When we wrote the RMB, we were careful not to favor any robot system or any robot league. What you see in the book are only supposed to be examples.
Since the Robotics Merit Badge was launched AFTER the 2011 build season, there should not be any merit badges awarded based on FRC work since it would not satisfy requirements 4 and 5.
Plenty of opportunity to do so for the 2012 season. Need to work out details between your FRC mentors, team members and scout merit badge counselor. As a FRC student member, you need to show enough involvement to satisfy all requirements.
You can get credit for work performed after the publication of the merit badge requirements which was in April of 2011. But you cannot fulfill a requirement that did not exist, so work done during the regular build and competition season last year would not count.
By “National” do you mean FIRST HQ? If so, that is no surprise.
If a troop or student without any existing connection to STEM robotics competitions asks FIRST HQ, they will probably be encouraged to use LEGO. The FLL and FTC programs are evidence of FIRST’s close relationship with the LEGO company’s products; and I believe that using LEGO equipment is FIRST’s default response to middle school students, or students that want to dip their toe into STEM Robotics.
If the Scouts are middle school or high school students, other programs like the RECF’s VRC (or BotBall, or BEST, or …) offer alternatives that introduce them to different opportunities (like the fun of head-to-head competition without the huge expense of an FRC team). There is no shortage of good programs (However, there are shortages of instances of participants in many areas)
Looking at the conversation from the opposite angle the BSA badge requirements don’t care which equipment gets used. Troops should be encouraged to use whatever equipment meets their needs and goals.
If they want to just earn the badge, they can do that with equipment scavenged out of broken toys and appliances if they want.
If they want to think about starting a STEM competition team along with earning the badge, they have several options. They should seek advice that tells them about all those options, and that helps them choose an appropriate option. One size does not fit all.
I suspect it will be pretty rare for a troop to begin an involvement in STEM robotics by forming an FRC team (that is a rather expensive and complex project); but I hope that the opposite is true for scouts who are already connected to, or near, an FRC (or VRC, or …) team. They should find it easy to tap into everything they need to earn the badge.
Actually I believe he is refering to BSA’s National office.
Robotics is not the only new merit badge with a STEM focus, and I have heard through back channels that there is increasing emphasis on STEM from them. I know of one troop with leadership involved in developing these MBs which was asked to “not do Advancement” for a year so they could spend time on these other programs. They politely declined.
I am a Merit Badge counselor for Robotics and I would encourage Scouts with a connection to an FRC team to use their work on the team towards the MB. I have already counceled a couple of boys who are doing the same with their FLL teams and am setting up a MB event for a troop in our district. We will be using Lego because I have NXTs available and it is familiar to the kids. Recently we had a MB day for Robotics in a nearby district that used VEX, because several kits were available.
The requirements are carefully designed to be platform independent, use what you have available.
Is there any way for a person to make it known to local troops that they are willing and able to help with this merit badge.
I left scouting at 15 as a Life scout because of the amount of time I was devoting to FIRST, I would love to get involved again, especially as a counselor for this badge.
Your best bet is to contact the BSA District you live/work in about becoming a counselor. I wondered the same thing a month or so back.
For those that are wondering what this District thing is, BSA’s organization goes something like: National–>Council (large-ish area)–>District (smaller area within Council)–>Troop (individual unit). A LOT of stuff happens on the District level, including Eagle rank stuff and merit badge counseling.
Oh, and Blake: I’ve never, ever, heard of FIRST HQ being called “National”. I’d consider it a safe bet to assume that Dag020 was referring to BSA’s National office.
“national” is scouter short hand for the Boy Scout National office.
Merit badges have specific requirements that have to be fulfilled by the individual. So being part of a build team for an FRC robot would not necessarily cover all of them.
Boy Scout & First do have a lot in common in the sense that the emphasis on the youth doing the work & leadership with the adults being in a mentoring role.
Just being on an FRC team will not fulfill all of the requirements. But being on an FRC team will provide opportunity to fulfill many of them. This badge will require more co-ordination between scout, team and mentors than most MBs. If you are interested in getting this MB via FRC I suggest getting in touch with the relevant people before Christmas.
If you need a councilor or want to be one, contact your local BSA District office.
ChrisH - Robotics Merit Badge Councilor, among other things.
I had the privilege of being on the team that created and wrote the merit badge requirements and book. Almost everything in this thread is accurate. The merit badge was designed to be platform-independent and to encourage participation by Scouts on robotics teams, and also to ensure that a Scout does not HAVE to be on a team to complete the merit badge.