A major engineering and construction firm has partnered with the Boy Scouts of America Georgia-Carolina Council to help young men and women earn one of three STEM-based merit badges.
Five engineers from the Bechtel Corporation, which has completed large-scale construction projects at both the Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle, worked with the Scouts to earn badges in Electricity, Engineering, or Space Exploration on Saturday, Dec. 11. “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,” says Dan Rogers, Scout executive. “They also learned about engineering as a profession, which may help many of them with their career choices later on.” Participants represented 14 Scout troops from Aiken, Columbia, and Richmond counties.
In the Electricity session, participants built electrical circuits, conducted safety inspections, and learned how electricity works. The Engineering session taught them about types of engineers, career opportunities, and engineering processes. Participants were also able to complete hands-on projects, such as building bridges and water rockets. To earn the Space Exploration badge, participants learned about space, satellites, and rockets. For the hands-on portion of the session, they built and launched model rockets.
