Program Areas

The big reason we go to summer camp, or at least why our parents pay for it, is the Program Areas. For many Troops this is where we learn most of our Merit Badge skills and can put to practice our outdoor advancement skills.

Scheduling

In prior years, Wente has varied its schedule from a very rigid class structure with set times to totally open scheduling. What we have learned from this experience is no two Scouts are alike, so there is no one way of scheduling that is going to work in every case. Some Scouts need a rigid schedule while others flourish in a more open system.
As a result Wente uses a hybrid system with set times for merit badge sessions in the morning and early afternoon, and a more open program in the later afternoon and evening. There are some badges that have limited resources or are affected by environmental conditions (such as Small-boat Sailing, where the wind tends to blow only in the late morning and afternoon) that must adhere to a strict schedule. Some of the badges we offer only as drop in, which means they can be taken only during open program time.
All of Wente’s merit badges, with a few exceptions, run on a four-day schedule with Friday open for make ups. This allows Scouts the chance to participate in activities that might cause them to miss a merit badge session and still complete the badge.
Merit Badge Schedule.pdf
To see a brief description of all the notes and oddities of each badge see the Merit Badge Info form

Signing Up For Merit Badges

A lot of stuff is happening on arrival day, leaving not much time for planning your Merit Badge schedule for the week. Therefore we recomend that your Unit urges its Scouts to have their Merit Badges planned out at least a few weeks before arriving at camp. You can use this excel Unit's Schedule of Merit Badges form to help organize your Scouts. To fill out the form, simply type the name of each Scout, Merit Badge or Eagle Trail session, and time in the appropriate column. Note any drop in badges that will be taken as well.

Another reason to have your badges planned is that some of our session sizes are limited due to circumstances beyond our control. These badges are listed below, as well as denoted with a "Pre sign ups req." tag in that badge's notes section.

To make certain that your Scouts get the sessions they want, your Unit should fill out the Unit's Schedule of Merit Badges form above for the limited badges listed below and email it to meritbadge@wente.org with your Troop # and merit badge sign ups in the subject line. You want to do this before arriving at camp, but not too far in advance, Scouts tend to change their mind fairly often. Saying that pre signing up is required is a little strong. We almost never reach our limits, we just want to have a system in place in case we do reach them.
Badges with limited class sizes
    Cinematography
    Climbing
    Forestry
    Horsemanship
    Pottery
    Rifle Shooting
    Sculpture
    Shotgun Shooting
    Small-Boat Sailing
    Swimming
    Whitewater
  -Fingerprinting will be limited to 50 Scouts per night. Don't pre sign up for it, you will have 3 chances to take it.

Additional Fees

Some badges have additional fees for craft kits, ammo, etc. All badge fees or supplies can be paid for in the Al Robinson Trading Post.
Badges with additional fees

Archery	$5
Basketry	$15
Climbing	$3
Composite Materials	?
First Aid	$15
Horsemanship	$10
Leatherwork	$5-10
Photography	$10
Pottery	$5
Rifle Shooting	$20	Covers all ammo for the week
Sculpture	$5
Shotgun Shooting	$20	Covers all ammo & clays for the week
Space Exploration	$25
Woodcarving	$5

Partials

There are many badges that have requirements that cannot be completed at camp. Some of these are due to time requirements and others simply cannot be done in a summer camp setting. In those cases when requirements are not completed at camp, a partial indicating the requirements that have been done will be issued and given to the unit leader. Many of these requirements can be completed before a Scout arrives at camp. There are a number of ways to handle work done prior to camp. A Scout can contact a merit badge counselor for that badge, go over the work he has done, and bring a partial to camp with him. The Scout can also bring the work he has done to camp and discuss it with the camp merit badge counselor. In some cases camp counselors will require a partial from a merit badge counselor or a note from their Scoutmaster or Parent on these camp forms.
Badges with Scoutmaster notes
    Camping

Badges with Parent notes
    Citizenship In The Nation
    Energy
    Fire Safety
    Personal Fitness
    Personal Management
    Plant Science

Bring a partial on a Blue Card for:
    Art
    Astronomy
    Backpacking
    Bugling
    Camping
    Citizenship in the Community
    Communications
    Cycling
    Emerency Preparedness
    Hiking
    Insect Study
    Personal Fitness
    Personal Management
    Reptile & Amphibian Study