Beginning in early 2011, Boy Scouts will be able to manage their merit badges with an interactive application for the Apple iPhone. The application which will be available for $1.99 through the iTunes Store, will let Scouts review merit badge requirements, keep track of their progress by requirement, and even share their success on Facebook.
“Boys are notoriously bad at paperwork and famously good at technology. This app will help Scouts keep up with their advancement and undoubtedly spur them on to achieve even more,” said Bob Wiemers, team leader for Publishing & Printing Solutions.
The app’s home screen shows the total number of badges the Scout has completed and started. With a few taps, he can check the requirements for any badge, find links to related websites and resources, and record the requirements he has completed. He can also post his results to Facebook from within the application.
If a Scout has already purchased The Boy Scout Handbook – Boy Scouts of America app, which appeared in 2009, it will automatically be imported into the new app. The handbook app is also available for purchase through the merit badge app for $7.99.
The merit badge app is about more than just merit badges. It also includes an RSS aggregator that pushes Scouting news to the owner’s phone.
Source: ProSpeak Best Practices Dec 2010
It’s been a long wait since Scouting Magazine announced the Historic Merit Badge Program back in January to yesterday when the program was made live for Scouts to earn the badges. (ok, technically the material first appeared on March 30th, according to some readers- however according to the material April 1st was the first day of the program.) The original announcement with lack of details caused quite a flurry on the web with some Councils and Leaders jumping the gun and offering the merit badges based solely off of the original requirements. A lot of folks couldn’t wait for the details as is apparent from the comments on our February 2nd post stating the 
