Related Advancement and Awards
- Cyber Chip
- Automotive Maintenance, Aviation, Canoeing, Cycling, Drafting, Electricity, Energy, Farm Mechanics, Motorboating, Nuclear Science, Railroading, Small-Boat Sailing, Space Exploration, and Truck Transportation merit badges
- Scouts BSA Nova and Supernova awards
Technology Information
Technology is a broad area of public endeavor that includes computers, transportation, manufacturing, communications, robotics, and countless other topics. With your parent’s permission, you can use an Internet search engine to find information that interests you. Topics to explore can include:
GPS units
— The science behind how they work
— Other factors necessary to make the technology functional
— Comparison to the old technology of using a compass
Cellphones
— The science behind how they work
— Other factors necessary to make the technology functional
— Exploration of the development of cellphones and discussion of potential future developments
Robotics
— The science behind how robots are designed and programmed
— How hobby robots compare with those used in engineering
— The availability of robotics competitions in your area
Cyber Chip – Staying safe online is an important skill today’s Scouts need. To help families and volunteers keep youth safe while online, Scouting America introduced the Cyber Chip. In developing this tool, the BSA teamed up with content expert NetSmartz®, part of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children® and training expert for many law enforcement agencies. You can learn more here.
Nova and Supernova Awards
Boy Scouts can earn special awards for learning more about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Here’s an introduction.
Nova Awards – The Nova Awards allow Scouts and Venturers to discover some of the basic principles of STEM and to experience science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in fun and interesting ways. Nova activities are fairly basic and are designed to spark interest in one or all of the categories of awards. They are straightforward to complete and offer a quick reward in the form of the Nova patch for the first award earned and a pi (π) pin to attach to the Nova patch for each additional award earned. Each Nova Award can be accomplished fairly easily in a few weeks.
Supernova Awards – The Supernova Awards require a deeper level of understanding and effort. They challenge Scouts who have a greater interest in the STEM fields to experiment, understand the outcomes of these experiments, and present their findings to their Supernova mentor. The focus is to build on the basic STEM topics with activities that will result in greater learning and an increasing complexity in the youth’s knowledge. Completing the requirements takes more work and includes some research. Completion of a Supernova Award earns the Scout or Venturer the right to wear the Supernova Award medal. Most Supernova activities will take several weeks or months to complete.
The Scout Law and Cybersafety/Cyberbullying
Today we are online more than ever before. We use technology to save us time with research, connect with others, navigate, and have fun. Here are some ideas of how the digital world and the Scouting community can live side by side.
Trustworthy – Be truthful with others online, and be very careful of the information you share. Do the right thing when sharing other people’s words or pictures. Make sure you have the owner’s permission before using them.
Loyal – Share information about others only if you have their permission to share it. Uphold appropriate agreements you make with friends when you play games with them.
Helpful – Alert others to scams, cheats, and suspicious sites. Point them to reliable and accurate sources of information. Encourage
people to report bad behavior online.
Friendly – Reach out to support others who are doing good things, like posting quality creative works. Support those who are bullied.
Courteous – Be polite and respectful. When you use other people’s work, be sure to ask permission when necessary, follow fair use standards, and give credit to the people who created and own the work.
Kind – Treat people with respect when you are on social networks, playing games, talking or texting on a cellphone, or in other digital activities.
Obedient – When using digital devices, follow the rules set by your parents/guardians, teachers, and Scout leaders. Abide by the rules established by sites, services, devices, and games.
Cheerful – Use games, messaging tools, and social forums to build your relationships with others while having fun.
Thrifty – Be a smart consumer. Know your voice, text, and data plans and use them wisely. Be sure to study digital devices and services you want. Before buying them, make sure you’re not overspending on functions and features you won’t need. Be careful not to run up charges on apps and sites.
Brave – Stand up for what is right. Do not participate in mocking and bullying others, even if your friends are doing it. Report suspected abuse to a trusted adult, like your parent or leader; call 911 or call the Cyber Tip line at 1-800-843-5678. If the incident involves any part of the Scouting program, call your council Scout executive immediately or email youth.protection@scouting.org.
Clean – Use clean language and discuss only appropriate topics when using digital devices to communicate with others.
Reverent – Respect the feelings of other people. Do not use digital devices to spread irreverent ideas.