Merit Badge Workshop: Weather

MOSI is hosting a Weather Merit Badge Workshop on Sunday, January 3, 2027, from 10 AM to 3:30 PM. It's a five-and-a-half-hour session where scouts dive into the science of extreme weather and get a look at what it actually takes to be a meteorologist. The day is built around hands-on activities and materials, and everyone gets a digital workbook and a blank Blue Card. The workshop covers most of the merit badge requirements, though not necessarily all of them, and counselors can provide a digital copy of the Blue Card within three months.

One thing that's worth knowing is who's running the show. The merit badge programs are led by counselors registered with the Boy Scouts of America, trained by MOSI and certified by the BSA. They've all completed BSA Youth Protection training and come with a background in a STEM field, so they're not just reading from a script—they know the science they're teaching. If your scout is under 13, you'll need an adult chaperone; the ratio for daytime workshops is at least one adult per ten children.

As for the cost, it's $28 or more per scout for a public workshop that runs four hours or longer. That fee covers the activities, the materials, the digital workbook, the blank Blue Card, and admission to MOSI after the session, so you can stick around and explore the museum once the workshop wraps up. If you're looking at other options, MOSI also runs three-hour workshops for $21 per scout and overnight camp-ins starting at $48 per scout—the camp-ins require a tighter chaperone ratio of one adult per four children.

So, if you've got a scout interested in the weather, this is a solid way to knock out a good chunk of the merit badge in a single day. It runs from 10 AM to 3:30 PM at MOSI in Tampa on Sunday, January 3.