My farther is a retired Cub Scout Master and as a member of his troop some 35 years ago I remember him teaching us about clouds, climate and weather patterns even though there was no badge for this at the time. Having recently checked on this I see that there is now a badge for meteorology, Scouts only, not Cub Scouts.

Are there any Scout Masters amongst our society and if so are you promoting this badge? Or any Scouts who wish to achieve this badge?

Here is a link to the requirements for the badge; there is quite a strong element of cloud knowledge required.

http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/badges/scout-activity-mete.htm

C.M.

Great bit of Scouting, C.M.! Thanks for bringing the Meteo. badge to our attention. I wonder if the Guides do anything similar? (Not having been even a humble Brownie, I have no personal experience!)

For schools within reasonable travelling distance of Exeter, it's worth noting that the Met Office have an education department and they can arrange for schools to visit. We have Met Office parents on our Governing Body at my school, so I'm going to be taking my Year 6s on a VIP guided tour soon - I'll tell you more once we've been.

Gini

Yes, in Africa we have Scouting, as well as clouds. I am Pack Scouter in Durban with the 57th Trafalgar Sea Scouts in Durban North. I look out over the Indian Ocean (east ie sunrise) and have fantastic scenes of Cloud formations every day. The Mozambique channel is about 15km offshore and always has some form of cumulus (strato cumulus castellatus?) to inspire me for the day.
With a pack of over 20 Cubs I am sure my cloudy enthusiasm will rub off.

Thanks very much for your info Bart. Does your Scout movement have the Meteorologist badge?

I would assume that as the Scouting movement is global that it is much the same anywhere regarding awards. As I mentioned earlier, the badge is currently Scout level in the UK not Cub level but if you could let me know I would appreciate it.

I am seeing my elderly farther soon and will discuss his contacts in the Scouting movement regarding badge development.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Cub Scout Cloud Appreciation badge? (and Brownies of course).

C.M.

Hi CM,

Here are the details of what is required in SA for the Weatherman Badge for Scouts. I hope it's not too long for this forum.
I don't know how many of our scouts have attempted this badge but I could possibly stimulate an interest in some doing it. My son is an 11 year Scout in the troop.

The Cubs have a Skies Badge where they need to know some constellations as well as 4 cloud types.

WEATHERMAN Scouts.
INTEREST BADGE
1. Keep from your own observation a daily record of the weather for one month, using
Beaufort letters and symbols, and including the following:
a) Wind force and direction
b) Cloud-types and conditions
c) Temperatures
d) Barometer readings
e) Rainfall
2. Construct a simple rain gauge and a wind vane and use these instruments to record the
wind direction and rainfall for (1).
3. Explain the formation of rain, thunderstorms, snow, sleet, hail, fog and rime.
4. Recognise and name six different cloud formations and explain their significance.
5. Explain the purposes and principles of
a) simple thermometer
b) wet and dry thermometer
c) barometer
d) anemometer
6. Understand the following:
a) relative humidity
b) dew-point
c) pressure
d) isobar
e) isotherm
f) Buys-Ballot's Law
g) cold front and warm front
Illustrate any explanation with a diagram.
7. Explain how weather forecasts are compiled and how this information is disseminated
to the public. Have a knowledge of synoptic weather maps and be able to read one.
Explain how radar, satellites and electronics are used in weather forecasting.
8. Discuss with the examiner at least two natural signs foretelling fine weather and two
foretelling bad weather as applicable to your own area.

Thanks, Bart & CM, for setting me off on another 'cloud education' trail. Very interesting to compare the two organisations' requirements for their badges. I followed your link, CM, to the scouts' website and from there to the Met office and have downloaded their booklet to help scouts prepare for the Met Office-sponsored badge - haven't had time to read it all yet but it looks really good and an excellent teaching tool.

Why is it left to organisations like the scouts and guides to do all the interesting (and useful!) stuff - shouldn't it be on the school curriculum??

Gini

Thanks for your info Bart.

Having spent a few hours scouting through international scouting web sites I now realize that there is quite a difference in badge opportunities in different countries. It does make sense though as the movement is very nationalistic in its allegiance to sovereignty; you would not expect a French Scout to be trying for his Boomerang badge or an Australian Scout doing Alpine skiing.

One thing that does come across is that in most countries there is a lack of anything cloud related for the Cub Scout age group, whereas Scouts have a variety of badges either Meteorological or Weather related.

Here lies an opportunity to ‘catch ‘em young’. Something like a Cloudspotters badge or Cloud Appreciation badge, endorsed by the C.A.S. with a junior membership maybe?

I will endeavor to make contact with the ‘powers that be’ regarding badge development in the UK Scouting movement; meanwhile I would still appreciate any further input from Scout leaders/Scouts.

C.M.

A C.A.S. badge for cub scouts is a great idea.
If you manage to make any contacts, we would of course by up for this.

Best,
Gavin

--
Gavin Pretor-Pinney

What a good idea a Weather/Cloud/Sky badge is! I was disappointed to find only 2 Scouts and 2 Guides in my class - I thought there might be more - but if C.A.S. sponsored a 'badge' scheme for primary aged kids I think it would go down a storm. And it would provide a focal point for teaching and a reason for integrating cloud/weather studies more thoroughly into the curriculum ('Weather' is a short topic in Primary Science but doesn't have a high profile unless teachers have a particular interest and actively promote it).

I would like to think that a C.A.S. Cloud Badge award would include creative elements as well as scientific ones - poems, pictures, 3D design, songs...... What else could be included, I wonder? Any thoughts?

You're so right, CM - catch them young! (There must be something of the Jesuit in us, I guess!)

Gini