Bechtel Corporation partnered with the Georgia-Carolina Council, Boy Scouts this past Saturday, December 11^th to provide 3 STEM based Merit Badges, including Electricity, Engineering, and Space Exploration. Each Scout had the opportunity to earn one of 3 Merit Badges during this session. There were over 45 participants in this program from 14 different Scouts BSA troops in Aiken, Columbia and Richmond counties along with 5 engineers from Bechtel to lead the sessions.  

The Scouts built electrical circuits with fans and lights, conducted electrical safety inspections, learned how electricity works. The engineering session learned about the 6 types of engineers, engineering processes, career opportunities, and built bridges and water rockets among other projects. The Space Exploration badge learned about the history of space including international relations in space. They built and launched model rockets, learned about how rockets and satellites work, and general information about space.  

Scout executive Dan Rogers noted” It is truly exciting to have over 45 Scouts work with the engineers from Bechtel to provide our Scouts with world class learning opportunities in these STEM areas. They also learned about Engineering as a profession which may help many of them with their career choices later on.” 

The Georgia-Carolina Council serves more than 1,300 area youth and 600 adult volunteers in 16 local counties, including Richmond, Columbia and Aiken. Nearly 330 new families from the area have joined the council Scouting program in 2021. Open to all boys and girls aged 5 to 20, interested parents can find local Scouting units at www.beascout.org  

For more information or to coordinate additional media coverage, please contact Rebecca Stiles, District Executive for the Georgia-Carolina Council, at (706) 733-5277 or [email protected].