MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University will host Merit Badge University for members of Scouting of America from six states this weekend.
Mountaineer Area Council Executive Council President Amy Garbrick said the scouts will be trained by the staff and faculty from WVU which is unique for this type of event.
“It’s pretty common nationwide for colleges and universities to host Merit Badge Universities on their campuses,” Garbrick said. ” What’s unique here is that all of the badge programs are being taught by faculty and staff that work at WVU.”
Boys and girls from around the region will begin the day at the Mountainlair with check-in at 8:15 a.m. The event also includes some classes for adult leaders and information about the 2026 National Scout Jamboree.
“We are just shy of 300 scouts coming,” Garbrick said. “These are boys and girls coming from six surrounding states tomorrow morning.”
Once check-in is complete, the scouts will fan out all over campus and the area via the PRT and personal car to begin classes for the day. Through the course of the day scouts can train for a variety of badges.
“We’re going to be teaching them everything from nuclear science, robotics, sustainability, journalism, game design, engineering, aviation, and chemistry,” Garbrick said. ” There’s a total of 21 merit badges that will be offered Saturday.”
Scouting programs are available for all children from kindergarten and up. Through the program scouts are exposed to leadership training, courses on citizenship and ethics that helps young people learn life skills and develop confidence.
“We recently went through a merger with a neighboring council based out of Wheeling,” Garbrick said. ” Now, we are a 22 county council with around 2,100 scouts in north central West Virginia and eastern Ohio.”
Locally scouts train in Morgantown at Camp Mountaineer, an area of more than 1,000 acres with a variety of learning opportunities and chances to experience the outdoors. The Mountain Area Council of Scouting America is in a partnership with West Virginia University Rifle to use the shooting range at the camp to train and work with scouts.
“We’re getting some of those scouts that are taking the merit badges for rifle and shotgun interested in the shooting sports to hopefully go on to participate on a team wherever they go to school.”