Composites merit badge

[Trevorum 24]

I gotta say, this one has me mystified. I know there must be folks out there who are passionate about resins and such, but it seems sorta boutique to me.

 

Anyone know anything about composites and want to set me straight?

[SemperParatus 1]

It ranks right up there with Pulp & Paper. Aren't composites people who live in compost piles?

[dan 10]

Hey Hey I am a counselor for pulp and paper!

Not that I have every counseled a scout for it in the 5 years that I have been a counselor for it!

[CalicoPenn 729]

Ever hear of the American Composites Manufacturers Association? Me neither, until I typed in Composite Materials Merit Badge on my search engine and this group popped up - they even have a committee formed to help councils to spread the word and teach the badge.

 

I've always thought that some merit badges are somehow sponsored by various professional associations. Some merit badges that seem innocuous at first glance, like Plumbing, Auto Mechanics, Journalism, Law, and Veterinary Science certainly have the potential to be sponsored.

 

Others, like Architecture, Dentistry, Landscape Architecture, Railroading, Masonry and Pulp & Paper surely must have some kind of association behind them.

 

And some just scream obvious industry or association support, like American Business, American Labor, Disabilities Awareness, Consumer Buying, Cinematography (Spielberg was on the Board once, was he not?), Metals Engineering and now Composite Materials.

 

Food for thought?

 

CalicoPenn

[Trevorum 24]

Alas, the Masonry merit badge is no more. Several years ago my son was helping me lay a rock wall and he asked me about it. We looked it up and it had been discontinued in 1998. Lack of interest I suppose

[GernBlansten 10]

Check the yellow pages for plastics suppliers. When doing boat repairs, I found one locally that had all the composites stuff (carbon fiber, fiberglass, epoxy, ...). Specialized in helping small fabricators for specialty shops and hobbyists. Real helpful guys. I'm sure they might know something about the merit badge.

[Lisabob 13]

Did you all see the ad for it toward the back of this month's BOy's Life? They've tied it in with learning about surfboards. At first I thought, hey cool, a surfboarding MB! Then I read it again. My son wasn't too excited to hear he could learn about plastics, I must admit. I don't see a big demand for this one.

 

Lisa'bob

[orennoah 11]

Didn't you see "The Graduate?"

[oldsm 10]

What's wrong with having industry "sponsorship" of a merit badge? To my way of thinking, it's a natural occurence. Having an association behind a MB should help to ensure that a subject is covered in a technically accurate way with some degree of thoroughness.

 

Consider also the cost of developing a new MB. It seems that having an entity outside BSA contributing toward the process both encourages community support of scouting and enables BSA to conserve its own resources for use in other areas.

 

Composites may not be your cup of tea - or mine. That doesn't matter. Let's face it: plastics are a HUGE part of contemporary life in the industrialized world, and more and more development is occurring in this area. Think about Burt Rutan and his "space plane" made largely from composites. NASA is hugely interested in this area, as are many sectors of industry.I think that many boys of scouting age dream about space exploration. Think about the materials used to make the cars we drive today - more plastic and less metal. Think about implantable human body replacement parts.

 

Composites have a huge role to play, and capturing the interest of tomorrow's scientists today will only help to ensure the future of our country.

 

One of the purposes of a merit badge is to expose young men to areas in which they might develop a career interest. I'm no expert on plastics. But if I were to become a Composites MBC, I would certainly welcome an industry resource to help me become more effective.

[Eagledad 2779]

Anyone who is creative and likes to work with their hands will really enjoy this badge. In fact, I think it would be one of the most popular crafts badges at summer camp because you can make so many things from composite type materials. Scouts will learn that much of the exquipment from back packs, canoes, bows, tent parts to boots, climbing gear, most water sport gear, bikes, even tools like axe and saw handles. Its easy to shape and the chemical processes is fun to watch. It is an area where Engineering is really expanding.

 

Barry

[yelruh 10]

Dan,

I agree, Pulp and Paper is a fine MB, I'm also a MBC for it. We've done about 70 scouts. It's the only MB that I've seen that looks like a hack one, but isn't.

 

The requirements just changed, so I'll have to read the new ones, before I do then next group. I did 10 scouts in August for Graphic Arts, some of them are interested in Pulp and Paper, especially the papermaking part, but honestly, I think they just want the patch.

 

Re: The Composites MB, some of the boys in our troop like to make skateboards and are already talking about who in the troop can teach it!

[GernBlansten 10]

I'm still angry about the rejection of the Duct Tape MB.

[Eagle76 10]

I work for a company which builds satellites, and we use graphite-expoxy composite materials extensively. In fact, I could probably teach the merit badge, except I don't do the hands-on work and I know nothing about skateboards or surfboards.

 

I say, run it up the flagpole and see how it flies. Composites are being used more and more in various engineering areas due to their high strength and light weight, although I guess it's still not as sexy as something like electronics.

 

As a point of order, composites materials and plastics are two different things.