STEM/Nova Resources for Boy Scouts

Click on the links below for more information on the Boy Scout STEM/Nova Program

BSA Boy Scout Nova & Supernova Awards Website

The Boy Scout Nova Guidebook may be purchased in the Council Scout Shop
or ordered online via Scoutstuff.org..

STEM/Nova Award Tracking Forms

Click on the links below to download a tracking form for a Nova or Supernova award

Shoot! tracking form

Start Your Engines! tracking form

Whoosh! tracking form

Designed to Crunch tracking form

Dr. Bernard Harris Supernova Award tracking form

Thomas Edison Supernova Award tracking form

Boy Scout STEM/Nova & Supernova Related Awards

Below is a tiered list of merit badges related to the Boy Scout Nova & Supernova Awards. Tier 1 includes merit badges that are STEM related in their entirety, whereas Tier 2 includes merit badges that have only a few STEM related requirements.

Tier 1 Merit Badges

Tier 2 Merit Badges*

*Click Here for specific STEM/Nova requirements for Tier 2 Merit Badges 

Other Resources

NESA STEM SCHOLARSHIP

NEW SCHOLARSHIP Promotes Science and Math Education -
As the economy struggles and college costs rise, scholarships are becoming more important than ever. So the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) is proud to announce that it has permanently funded a new annual Eagle Scout scholarship.

The NESA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Scholarship will be awarded annually to an Eagle Scout who intends to major and pursue a career in one of those fields. Applicants must submit the Eagle Scout Academic Scholarships application (available from www.NESA.org/scholarships.html). The application must include a signed statement—one the applicant has written—that details his education and career goals in a STEM-related field, as well as a signed reference letter from a high school teacher in that field. The first NESA STEM Scholarship was awarded on June 1, 2012, at the Boy Scouts of America’s National Annual Meeting.

The new scholarship aligns with the BSA’s renewed emphasis on promoting science and technology, fields where American students seriously lag their counterparts around the world. (Three-fourths of America’s fastest growing occupations require significant math and science preparation, yet less than 15 percent of high school graduates are prepared to pursue scientific or technical training in college, according to one study.) 

BLASTCAR™

The new Blastcar™ racing activity is a merit-badge-driven activity intended for Boy Scouts. Scouts can use their knowledge to experience the engineering design process through sketching an idea for their racer, laying out a design, constructing the car, conducting trial tests, modifying their design, and adding finishing details. Scouts design their racers for optimum performance on the course(s) they’ve engineered as a team.

Kit contains a pine wood block measuring 10" x 2 1/4" x 1 7/8", four racing slick wheels, axle screws, eyelets, axle key, and instruction guide. The position for the CO2 cartridge is pre-drilled into each block.

Activity can be used toward requirements for Model Design & Building, Woodworking, and Wood Carving merit badges.  Blastcar kits are available in the local Scout Shops or online at www.scoutstuff.org

For Blastcar guidelines and instructions, please go to this link:

http://www.scoutstuff.org/media/content/docs/pdfs/5239_Blastcar_GuideFNL.pdf 

PBS NOVA ONLINE PROGRAMS

Attached is a list of PBS Nova Online Programs that apply to Shoot!, Start Your Engines! and Designed to Crunch.  You can click on the title to take you to the web page.