2015 York District Merit Badge College Contents of Guide Catawba Nuclear Station April 17-19 th 2015 Leaders Guide Section 1: General Information and Policies Section 2: Merit Badge Classes Section 3: Twilight Activities Section 4: Adult Leader Opportunities Section 5: Dates, Registration Fees, Schedules and special opportunities Committee Contact Info Please feel free to contact any of the following through email with questions. Leon Putman: MB College Activity Chair Putman.leon@gmail.com 803-415-7458 Tim Whitesell: Logistics and Catering Tim.whitesell@duke-energy.com Taylor Thomas: District Executive Taylor.Thomas@scouting.org 803-519-8262 Derek Lentz: MB College Assistant Chair Derek_lentz@email.com 704-500-9625
Section 1: General Info Check In: Since Catawba Nuclear station is an active and highly secure facility the process for check in will be organized with an emphasis on security. All adults who plan on driving or dropping off their scout will need to submit their names to security prior to arriving at the gate. Everyone in your car will need to be registered for the event in order to be allowed access to the site. Gate check in will begin no earlier than 4pm on Friday April 17 th. Drop offs will only be allowed with advance written notice. We would like to avoid this at all possible due to the distance between the gate and the training facility. Campsites: Campsites are assigned at the time of check-in. Once through the security gate check-in will take place at the training center. Due to limited parking once you unload your vehicle you may be asked to relocate your vehicle to an alternate parking lot which will be designated on the map provided at check in. Please note: Open flames of any kind are not permitted. We will be camping in an open grass field and depending on attendance we may need to setup tents close together. This will be an excellent time to get to know your neighbor. And as always please follow the practices of Leave No Trace. Activity Maps: Maps will be provided for all youth and leaders at check-in. Please adhere to the designated Out of Bounds areas. These are for your safety and the security of all. Two Deep Leadership: BSA requires all units to maintain at least 2 deep leadership. Although event staff will be onsite we do expect all units be under the supervision of their own adult leaders. There must be two adults at MBC at all times and standard BSA Youth Protection Guidelines must be followed at all times. Unit Leader Responsibilities: Adult leaders are responsible for monitoring the behavior of youth members and interceding when necessary. We are encouraging leaders to participate in the available training however if leaders do not attend trainings we ask that leaders attend merit badge sessions to assist counselors with any behavior issues that may arise. We ask that all leaders register on meritbadge.info as well. Emergencies and Accident Reporting: All medical emergencies must be reported to staff. Trained staff will be onsite throughout the weekend to handle all medical emergencies. All accidents, even those not requiring medical attention, should be reported to staff. Refunds and MBC Withdrawals: Cancellations before April 3rd will be considered for a refund. No refunds will be processed after April 10 th. Scouts may be substituted for those not able to
attend provided class assignments do not change. It would be safe to assume that all classes will be at full capacity once the event begins. 2015 Merit Badge College Schedule Friday: Check-In/Registration Beginning at 4pm until 8:30pm training Center hallway outside theater Friday: Intro for Safety 7:30-8:00p/8:00-8:30p training center theater Friday: Twilight Activities 9:00-11:00p training center classrooms Friday: Lights Out 11:30p Saturday: Breakfast 7:00-8:30a mess tent outside training center Saturday: Flag Ceremony 8:00a outside training center Saturday: Class session 1 8:30-11:30a various classrooms Saturday: Lunch 12:00-1:00p mess tent outside training center Saturday: Class session 2 1:30-4:30p various classrooms Saturday: Dinner 5-6:30p mess tent outside training center Saturday: Event Assembly 7:30-8:30p event field/parking lot Saturday: Twilight activities 9:00-11:00p training center classrooms Saturday: Lights out 11:30p Sunday: Closing flag and 7:30a announcements chapel Sunday: Youth in service 8:00-9:00a clean-up and teardown Sunday: Unit check-out 9:00a tear down and check out Transportation: A portion of the Aviation Merit badge will be taught at the Rock Hill airport. Units with Scouts taking Aviation will need to coordinate transportation during the lunch block to complete this Merit badge. A bag lunch will be provided for all leaders and Scouts participating in this activity. All other Merit badges will be taught onsite. Meals, Concessions: The following meals are provided as part of the registration fee. Saturday: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Sunday: Breakfast (This will consist of a grab and go pastry. Drink stations will be setup all 3 days for Scouts both outside and inside the training facility. Bug Juice and Cold water will be offered. Providing your own water bottles would be appreciated to keep down trash accumulations.
A Friday night meal is not part of the registration fee and scouts are encouraged to eat before they arrive. For planning purposes please let us know of any special dietary needs we should be aware of at the time of registration. Section 2: Merit Badge Classes and Workbooks Merit Badge Sessions: The Merit Badge College has scheduled one (1) Twilight session on Friday night which includes several Merit badge offers, two (2) sessions on Saturday (morning and afternoon), and one (1) additional Twilight session on Saturday evening. This will give Scouts the opportunity to earn up to four (4) Merit Badges. When registering Scouts must preregister for all Twilight activities they wish to attend so staff can account for class sizes. All classes must be selected via the MeritBadge.info website. Merit Badge Selection: Please be aware that not all Merit Badges are offered every session. Most Twilight activities are only offered in the evening. Class Changes: If scouts need to change class selections they must do so before April 10 th. New class selections are subject to availability. All class changes must be directed to Leon Putman @ putman.leon@gmail.com. Before the Weekend: 1. Print a copy of the Merit Badge workbook. (All are available online) 2. Complete all required prerequisites. 3. Review Merit Badge Pamphlet. Merit Badge Weekend- Scouts Responsibility: 1. Bring your copy of the Merit Badge Workbook completed. Bring photos, letters of approval or response and additional materials to help document prerequisite work. 2. Merit Badge book. 3. Any additional items listed in the Bring to class section of the workbook. 4. Pencil or pen and paper. Blue Cards: We will provide Blue cards for all classes. If you have begun a class at another event and wish to complete it with us please bring your original card with you for verification. Please alert us prior to leaving Sunday of any errors in Blue card printing and we will correct them prior to your departure on Sunday. Attendance: Scouts will need to sign an attendance sheet at the beginning of every class. It will be the Scout s responsibility to affirm his presence in class. If he does not sign in we have no way of knowing that he actually attended the class.
Merit Badge Classes Offered Merit Badge Sessions offered Pre-requisites required Nuclear Science (2) Saturday block 1 & 2 Chemistry Saturday block 1 & 2 Aviation Saturday block 1 only Citizenship in the Community Saturday block 2 only Energy Saturday block 1 & 2 Citizenship in the World Saturday block 1 & 2 Emergency Prep Saturday block 1 & 2 Engineering Saturday block 1 & 2 Electricity Saturday block 1 & 2 Digital Technology Saturday block 1 & 2 Finger printing Fire Safety Astronomy Chess All course pre-requisites will be listed online at Meritbadge.info Section 3: Twilight Activities Our list of activities includes: 1. Movie Night event- Each night we will host a film in the training facilities 74 seat movie theatre. The film each night will start promptly at 9pm. 2. Astronomy Merit Badge- Take a tour of the night stars with the Rock Hill Astronomy club. This is the full Merit badge course taught by a group that loves the night sky. This program taught weather permitting. Sign up via Meritbadge.info required. 3. Fingerprinting Merit Badge: The full fingerprinting Merit badge will be taught by Venturing Crew 316 both nights for anyone interesting in taking this fun class. Sign up via Meritbadge.info. 4. Fire Safety: Full Merit Badge offered with pre-requisites required. Sign up via Meritbadge.info. 5. Chess- Test your skills against new players as well as seasoned competitors in our 1 st annual Chess tournament. This event will span both nights inside the canteen. The chess merit badge will also be offered during this block. Sign up required via Meritbadge.info.
6. Corn hole Tournament: There will be corn hole tournament for both Scouts and Adults each night outside the training facility. Please register at check in via teams of 2. Teams will be paired randomly with everyone competing regardless of age. Section 4: Adult leader opportunities A full list of leader training modules will be available prior to the start of the event via email to registered volunteers. Section 5: Dates, Registration Fees, Schedules and special opportunities Due to the high interest in this event Pre-Registration is required to attend. Dates Registration Fees April 17, 18, 19 Event $25 per scout, $15.00 per leader February 9, 2015 Registration opens April 3, 2015 Registration deadline No registrations will be accepted after April 3 rd. Registrations and Payments: The registration fees include Saturday breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Sunday breakfast, facilities, liability insurance, MBU patch and program supplies for Scouts and adults registered for Merit Badge college. No payments will be accepted via Paypal on Meritbadge.info. Only checks sent to the council office (accompanied by the payment/roster form) or credit card payments will be accepted via the council website (this open will be available after online registration ends on 4/3). We look forward to seeing everyone in April for this one of a kind event. Please let us know if anyone has questions or concerns relating to this program or the event location. As always program changes may occur leading up to the event but this should only enhance the experience for the betterment of all attending. We will keep you posting of any new educational or entertainment possibilities. Yours in service, Catawba Merit Badge College Staff