Citizenship in the Nation Resources

[clemlaw]

At my website, I have some information for scouts working on Citizenship in the Nation:

 

http://w0is.com/scouting/CitizNation.html

 

I have explanations of my expectations for the requirements, and also some resources for working on it.  I have information on local sites that can be used for requirement 2 (historic sites).  Obviously, most of those are only relevant in my area.

 

I'll probably tweak this after I've counseled the merit badge a few times, but if anyone finds it useful, feel free to make use of it.  And, of course, constructive criticism is always welcome.

[Stosh]

Well done and well thought out.

 

The only caveat I would add would be the historical sites.  No one is going to make a special trip from Minnesota to Yellowstone for the MB, but Minnesota is loaded with many great historical places that may be more interesting than Ft. Snelling that has probably already been visited by the Twin City scouts.

 

The largest Indian War in American history was fought in Southern Minnesota in 1862.  Mankato was host to one of the largest public executions in American history when 38 Indians were hung.  New Ulm was under siege for 3 days, the only time in American history where the Indians were able to do this.  Interesting read on how US dealt with the Indian populations before, during and after conquering them.

 

Tower/Sudan Mine it is now run by the US Parks Service!

 

Bois du Brule - St. Croix portage that linked Lake Superior to the Mississippi during the fur trade era.

 

Kensington Stone

 

Maybe a scout outing for the rest of the boys in the troop would go a long way to promote a rather tedious MB.

[JosephMD]

Being in the National Capital Area Council - there is no shortage of historic sites & government offices!  I think our scouts have an unfair advantage on that one.

[Stosh]

Every town has a Post Office.... 

[clemlaw]

Yes, Requirement 2 shouldn't be too difficult, no matter where the Scout happens to be.  IIRC, the "fedreral facility" requires a "tour," so just going to the post office and buying a stamp probably wouldn't qualify.  But if the postmaster is willing to show them around, then it's probably OK.

 

The "national monument" (requirement 2d) doesn't require a personal visit, so they only need to actually visit one location.  The easiest, at least where I live, is the "historic landmark" category, since there are over a hundred in one county.  They include a number of bridges, so just walking over the bridge would qualify, although I'd probably recommend something a little more interesting.  But if the Scout is into bridges, then I'd say go for it!

[Stosh]

One of the best tours we had in recent years was touring the local post office.  The PostMaster did a great job and even I thought it was interesting.  Some of the sorting machines are pretty impressive.  The local PO also has other federal offices there that were introduced and toured a bit.  The passport office, the FBI, etc. all held the boy's attention.

[Tampa Turtle]

14 hours ago, clemlaw said:

Yes, Requirement 2 shouldn't be too difficult, no matter where the Scout happens to be.  IIRC, the "fedreral facility" requires a "tour," so just going to the post office and buying a stamp probably wouldn't qualify.  But if the postmaster is willing to show them around, then it's probably OK.

 

The "national monument" (requirement 2d) doesn't require a personal visit, so they only need to actually visit one location.  The easiest, at least where I live, is the "historic landmark" category, since there are over a hundred in one county.  They include a number of bridges, so just walking over the bridge would qualify, although I'd probably recommend something a little more interesting.  But if the Scout is into bridges, then I'd say go for it!

If you find an engineer to talk about the bridge that could be cool too.

[Stosh]

I like the sign in middle of Royal Gorge bridge.   It says "No fishing from bridge."  one can almost see the water from there.