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CONCORD, N.H. – Can a mechanism movement a tent? If so, a Boy Scout who builds digit strength be healthy to acquire two worthiness badges at once.

The Boy Scouts of America, which offers more than 120 badges ranging from archery to wilderness survival, incoming hebdomad module show a robotics worthiness badge meant to encourage science, technology, field and math, fields collectively known as STEM. In doing so, the 101-year-old Texas-based methodicalness is disagreeable to remain germane and better emit boys' interests, said Matt Myers, who oversees the Boy Scouts' STEM initiative.

Badges hit been dropped over the eld — blacksmithing and cultivation for warning — and replaced with newborn versions more in line with skills boys requirement to succeed, he said.

"Last century, tenting was an primary activity skill. Sometimes, you strength hit had to live outside in the 1900s to survive. We view STEM as an primary activity power in the 21st century," he said Thursday. "We're meet disagreeable to ready germane with what kids requirement to learn."

Officials wait at small 10,000 of the nation's 2.7 million Boy Scouts to acquire the newborn badge in the incoming year, compared with the roughly 500,000 who acquire the most favourite badge — prototypal assistance — apiece year.

Those earning the badge module be required to organisation and physique a mechanism patch acquisition most mechanism movement, sensors and programming.

The Boy Scouts hit added four newborn badges in the terminal five years; the most past was the Inventing badge introduced terminal June. Developing the robotics badge requirements took 14 months and participating help from more than 150 scouts, their body and business professionals. Ken Berry, who led the effort, said the badge is a taste owed presented that hundreds of thousands of children and teens already are participating in robotics competitions around the country.

"We're promoting exercising of the nous same athletics promotes exercising of the body," said Berry, supporter director of the Science and Engineering Education Center at the University of Texas at Dallas.

The beauty of robotics is that it combines engineering, power and machine power in a recreation format that modify teenaged Scouts crapper master, Berry said.

"There's a baritone story and a broad cap with regard to robotics," he said. "It's rattling cushy to get into, and you crapper go a long, daylong way."

Berry, an Eagle Scout himself, said he would hit idolized the chance to acquire a robotics badge as a teen. Now 49, he remembers acquisition most radios and electronics as a Boy Scout, but there wasn't such opportunity for hands-on building.

"One of the biggest problems we hit for broad edifice kids and Boy Scouts included, is that there aren't a aggregation of opportunities to mend and undergo what it's same to be an engineer, so when they get to the college level, students are often ill embattled to do an field degree," he said.

NASA, which allowed its Mars rover to be represented on the badge, also united to take 100 patches into space on the Endeavour shuttle mission. Those badges module be diffuse ended an online contest.

"I conceive it would be cool," said Kyle Vachon, 11, of Auburn, N.H., who has earned badges in prototypal assistance and trade and is working on a badge in individualized management.

Ten-year-old Josh Cerniglia of Atkinson, N.H., was also enthusiastic, since he has attended a robotics season tent and enjoyed working on a build-your-own circuit kit.

"It's a taste fantastic because most of (the badges) hit to do with camping, and robotics doesn't hit to do a aggregation with camping," he said. "But I conceive as presently as I'm ended with fishing, I'll essay to go for it."

The newborn badge module be formally announced Tuesday and undraped Saturday in Boston during digit of more than 75 events existence held around the land to evaluation National Robotics Week. The Boston circumstance is sponsored by iRobot Corp., digit of the companies that helped amend the badge requirements.

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