Like Mt. Washington, Katahdin is one of those classic, must do, northeastern hikes. Logistically it is a challenge because of the remoteness and competitiveness for campground space. The attached gives an overview of the hike. I wrote it using powerpoint 07, if it does not open for you, send a note and I’ll try saving [...]

A friend at work introduced this to me and I introduced it to my daughter. I’m bringing it up because they have a great Junior Program for kids starting at the age of 14. I think this is a great opportunity to do something challenging and really build confidence.  If your son has any thoughts [...]

 
This is an easy but interesting merit badge. In the northeast, we’re blessed with numerous early American history sites, but I bet wherever you are you can find something interesting. I’ll work on some training material, in the meantime, I’ll share this one piece I was working on:
 
The Concord Hymn
 ”…And fired the shot heard round the world.” [...]

     
Leave No Trace is not simply a program for visiting the backcountry, it is an attitude and a way of life.
I plan to expand this area considerably, I have lots of material to share on this topic.
Here’s one that is pretty good - an extensive powerpoint done on the entire program:
Leave No Trace Powerpoint (large [...]

Wilderness Survival Merit Badge Supplement 
Here are three good survival scenarios to use with your kids. Not part of the badge requirements but can be used as a warm-up or post-badge activity. If you are cabin camping some night and want an interesting group activity, pull these out.
survival1.doc
survival2.doc
survival3.doc

 
Last year we did this whitewater rafting trip out in western MA. They actually organize a full Whitewater MB class, but we wanted the kids to have an introductory run first before getting into the whole MB requirement process. It was on class III rapids which I thought were pretty mild (albeit, it was a [...]

 
Here’s something that looks pretty interesting - earning the geology merit badge (and mammal study) while exploring a cave. They seem to have a nice program designed. Could do all year, not just a summer activity. Lincoln Caverns is somewhat in the area of Gettysburg (center, bottom of PA), so if you are traveling there from [...]

 
These may help - free sky maps showing what is in the sky by month.
The telescope.com one is a little better for locating planets. Skymaps.com has nice descriptions of the night sky.
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sky_calendar.html (click on planets 1/2 way down), map at bottom.
http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

 If this link stays active, here is a program for the Bird Study Merit Badge:
http://k2gw.tripod.com/birdstudy/

Here’s a powerpoint to use for oceanography. Not my work, but one of the few docs available on this topic. Maybe it helps…
oceanography.pdf