13 January 2009
Duct Tape Merit Badge
Posted by admin under: merit badge .
Dualscoutmom was bemused by the enduring interest in her year-old blog post about an effort to get a duct tape merit badge accepted by the BSA. I totally get it. The boys in my troop are fascinated by duct tape, too. In fact, my son’s patrol wanted to be renamed Duct Tape, but couldn’t get a quorum together to approve the change (which is just another way to say they couldn’t get together and follow through). One of my earliest posts was about duct tape band-aids which still gets hits. The people love duct tape. And the boys love it even more.
A fabulous idea was proposed a few years ago by Greg MacWilliam of Troop 99 in Hilton, NY. To date, his dream hasn’t made it to reality, but I am here to sing his praises and offer my support (and hopefully your’s) to try and move this forward.
After Greg went to college, the concept was adopted by Rick Adams who revised and proposed the requirements for the Duct Tape Merit Badge to National. Sadly, in 2002, the effort was turned down and National declined a motion to debate the decision. However, dtmb.gobot.com remains active, with several troops who supported the effort at that time. It also continues to hold a page on Troop 99’s website.
…
I encourage you to look into this and let any of your scouts working on their Communications Merit Badge know that there is a noble cause. On the Duct Tape Merit Badge site, there is a link to a letter of support that can be submitted to your district, council, and national. If this is something your scouts excel at, they deserve a chance to earn a non-required badge.
And now to e-mail this to my son…
- DualScoutMom Posts on Positive Peer Pressure
- What’s the Fit Fuss?
- Closeout on 2008 Eagle Application
- Liquid Cut Care and Duct Tape?
- Start Working on Your Cinematography Merit Badge
5 Comments so far...
@TraciKnoppe Says:
13 January 2009 at 7:27 pm.
Hey, my love for duct tape truly began when it came out in colors. I nearly fainted when I saw it now comes in PLAID! Since my husband believes duct tape cures and fixes all – the least it should do is coordinate with my decor. 
admin Says:
13 January 2009 at 8:32 pm.
Cool! Hey, I love your blog. It’s exactly what I was looking for when I started this one. I agree on your endorsement of Twitter Tools, obviously, since that’s how I’m cross-posting notices of new blog entries.
dualscoutmom Says:
23 January 2009 at 8:36 pm.
Thanks for the link back to the duct tape merit badge blog! The more people that see, the better the chance this dream can become a reality. Christmas of ‘07, my now 15 year old son’s favorite gift of all was the box of 17 rolls of duct tape. To this day, he uses his clear duct tape wallet that he lined around a $1 bill. He even worked it out so he could put a wallet chain on it. I’m telling you, I don’t know if it is a sickness or an outlet for creative geniuses.
Dean Whinery Says:
14 May 2009 at 3:55 pm.
‘Ja ever wonder how we did Scouting without duct tape? I’ve seen a lot of hiking boots come off the John Muir Trail patched with it, a SM I know used it when the seam in the back of his uniform split and he’d forgotten a sewing kit. My down bag still has most of its filling thanks to a short piece of it. Last year I observed a patrol flag, entirely of this material, entered in a camp patrol flag contest…came in second.
I was not amused, however, when an untrained “home nurse” used duct tape instead of much more friendly medical tape to secure a bedridden patient’s feeding tube.
Denny Anderson ( SM T-17) Says:
20 May 2010 at 2:52 pm.
We are offering the Duct Tape MB at our Space Jam 4, Aug 6,7,8 Chanute Air Museum, Rantoul,Il. visit spacejamboree.com for registration info and we are offering all 4 2010 only MBs and 24 others, …and we will be talking to the astronauts on the ISS live…. and Red Green is invited.
