Boy, Girl Scout Weather Merit Badge checklist, lesson plan, materials

• Lesson Plan for Teaching Weather Merit Badge to Small Groups
• Laptop with Leon the Lighting game opened in a web browser.
• Blue MB cards: one for each Scout (obtain from the Advancement Chair of their Troop)
• Weather Merit Badge Booklet for reference. Purchase at a local Scout Shop.
• Thunder Experiment: Brown paper lunch sacks, enough for each Scout and one extra for demonstration.
• Weather Worksheet: Be sure to use the version that has been modified for this class. We eliminated either/or choices for requirements 8 and 9 and highlighted which achievements can be found on posters to help guide Scouts through the class.
• Weather Experiments: You can use more advanced experiments for older Scouts, easily found online.
• Worksheet: How Weather Affects Different Industries
• Industry Paper Signs: Farmer, Sailor, Builder, Aviator: afix with string to make a necklace.
• Posters: these are Word files that can be laminated before hanging:
  • Meteorology
  • Weather vs. Climate
  • Watch vs. Warning
  • What Causes Wind
  • Why Does it Rain
  • How is Lightning Formed
  • How is Hail Formed
  • Acid Rain & Pollution
• Dangerous Weather & Safety Rules (first portion of requirement #2)
  • Lightning
  • Winter Storms
  • Tornadoes
  • Hurricanes
  • Floods
  • Heat
• Posters: Warm Front & Cold Front: Copied from the Merit Badge Booklet
  These posters are teaching aids, meant to guide the instructor’s discussion with Scouts for requirement 3 at the top of page 2 on the Weather Worksheet.
• Worksheet: Weather Map”
• Crushing Can Experiment:
  • Empty soda cans: enough for each Scout plus one for demonstration
  • Electric burner or portable camping cook burner
  • Long tongs to grab the hot can off the burner and flip it into the cold water
  • Large clear bowl: Use bowl for this experiment and two other activities below.
  • Water to put in bowl and into each can
• Cloud/Water Cycle Chart - this is a NOAA chart, available to download online
• Lightning Experiment: Wintergreen Certs mints - one or two for each Scout
  Handout: “Weather Safety: to Guide Scouts’ Talk with Family and Troop or Pack
• Slips of paper each with a type of severe weather printed on it, folded, placed in bowl. Have enough for each partnered pair of Scouts to pull one from the bowl.
• NOAA Weather Radio for demonstration (Activity 10)
• Slips of paper each with a weather career printed on it, folded, placed in bowl (use same bowl from crushing can experiment). Have enough careers for each Scout to pull one from the bowl.

Optional: If you want to expand the course time:

• Scout Achivement Plan Checklist
• Instructions to build a rain gauge and weather tracking chart
• Supplemental Information to help teach technical material