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# NOAA Hosts Oceanography Merit Badge Event

## **Please note that the Oceanography Merit Badge program described in this story is no longer active. We are unaware of any other NOAA programs of a similar nature.**

This short video reveals how pursuing the merit badge in oceanography opened doors of opportunity for 44 Boy Scouts aged 11 to 17.  | **Download**: Oceanography Merit Badge (22 MB) 

Over  the last four years, 187 Boy Scouts from as far away as Georgia and South  Carolina have worked toward their merit badges in oceanography by participating  in an annual event hosted by NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanography  Products and Services (CO-OPS) Field Operations Division, located in  Chesapeake, Virginia.

This  year, 44 boys aged 11 to 17 built makeshift buoys and learned what made them  float (or not). The scouts were divided into five groups and rotated through  five work stations where, in addition to the physics of buoyancy, they learned  about shipwrecks, hydrography, Chesapeake Bay ecology, and ocean acidification.

Boy Scout merit badge counselor Joe  Colby, a systems administrator at NOAA’s National Ocean Service, coordinates  several merit badge programs throughout the year. The Oceanography merit badge is  the most popular. The yearly event is staffed by volunteers from CO-OPS, the Atlantic  Hydrographic Branch of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, NOAA's Monitor National  Marine Sanctuary, the Nauticus maritime museum, and Old Dominion University. 

Matthew Watts, 14, a scout from  Yorktown, Virginia, obtained his Oceanography merit badge at summer camp last  year but attended the event to learn more about ocean-related subjects. “I’m  interested in a career in marine biology,” he said, noting that “As a marine  biologist, I would need to know all about ocean processes like waves, currents,  tides, and habitats, and how they affect wildlife migration patterns.” He especially  liked the module on ocean acidification testing because “it demonstrated how  acid affects organic materials and carbon dioxide plays a role in acidification  of the ocean.”

“Most  of us remember someone – a teacher, friend, or neighbor – who influenced us in  some way that made our life better,” says Colby. “I enjoy the challenge of  coordinating and hosting these events and making them fun, exciting, and interesting.  A 1995 Boy Scouts of America study showed that 17 percent of scouts who worked  on merit badges discovered a lifelong hobby or career as a result! Opening  doors for youth to see beyond where they are, and introducing them to different  opportunities, helps both our communities and the economy.”

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###### More **Information**

          - Center for Operational  Oceanographic Products and Services 
          - NOAA Sponsors  Boy Scout Merit Badge in Oceanography 
          -  What does an  oceanographer do? 

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