About This Site

Hi! I'm Michael Kauffmann aka The Optimist. This web site is descended from my first site, the Optimistic Connection, which was online for over two years. The Opticon had such a wide range of topics that it was a little confusing for the users (and sometimes the author).

When I decided I needed a new web site with more space, I reviewed my old site to see what I should keep and what I could do without. It was a hard decision but in the end I decided to focus solely on Scouting rank advancement. Thus the Merit Badge Research Center was born.

Less than two months later, I decided to expand my horizons further. Since many different youth programs focus on similar subjects (a rose by any other name...), why not gear this site to include other programs such as the Girl Scouts. Time to grow again and so MeritBadge.com was born.

Since the very first day I started listing merit badge requirements back in 1995, I've constantly been bombarded with the same two questions: How do I complete merit badges online? ~and~ Why don't you have information on here that will help me work on them? So now I'm providing this type of information.

Obviously, not every requirement for every merit badge or interest project can be completed online. But many requirements can. And there's plenty of background information available on the web that can help support the rest of your off-line efforts. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you on your way. Good luck!

Printing

First of all, you may notice that this site doesn't have a lot of graphics... To tell the truth, it's just Plain Jane. Well, that's quite intentional. You see, every time a Scout wants to work on his merit badge, he can't just jump up and connect to the internet to review the requirements (obviously). So the web pages are plain so that they're easily printable. Just pick the pages your interested in and print them out.

Is It Dedicated?

In each merit badge's Merit Badge Resource Links section, source links will be referred to as dedicated or related. Sites identified as dedicated were written specifically with the actual merit badge in mind. These pages are usually very helpful when working on your projects.

Related sites are exactly that, related to the merit badge subject matter. Some are more helpful than others. Some are way too helpful. For instance, the WWW Virtual Library pages contain hundreds, even thousands of links on their subject. You may want to save them until last. The merit badge links that are more useful are usually listed first.

What You'll Find

This site is totally devoted to Scout rank advancement, awards and merit badges. There are currently 500+ web pages on this site in support of that mission. That's a lot and it can be confusing. If you find the MBRC excessively confusing, just drop me a note and I'll put you back on the right track.

Graphics

The logos and graphics I've developed for this site aren't as good as I'd like. If you're any good at creating graphics and would like to contribute to this site, please send me some feedback. Also, if you want to make use of the merit badge and rank advancement graphics on this site, please read the copyright/disclaimer for information about use of copyrighted images and materials.

How You Can Help Yourself And Others?

That's easy... Submit useful web URLs! There are lots of great sites out there on Scout related topics. If you find a good one, stop by and let me know. Thanks and enjoy your visit to the Merit Badge Research Center.

About The Author

As a youth, I enjoyed Cub Scouts for two wonderful years earning my Wolf and Bear ranks. The year I started in Webelos, my father got upset with the Pack and I dropped out. I was never approached about joining a Scout troop and I was under the mistaken impression that you had to graduate from Cub Scouting to get into Boy Scouts. Now I understand what I missed and it's the main reason I'm as active as I am today.

As an adult, I have been active now for sixteen years. I decided to get involved when my son was born. I became a Scouter when he was two (talk about advanced planning!) and worked with him all the way through his Scouting career. I have served as Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop Committee Chair, Troop Advancement Chair, Webelos Den Leader, District Camping Chair, Roundtable Commissioner, Unit Commissioner, and Camp Commissioner.