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bjbj (Music.) NARRATOR: Department of Energy s Energy Information Administration closed
out energy action month by sponsoring a merit badge class for local boy and girl scouts.
Over 100 National Capital Area Council Boy Scouts and several Girl Scout troops showed
up early the last Saturday in October to earn the rare energy badge and patch. ADAM SIEMINSKI:
The purpose here really is to give kids an understanding of some of the complexities
involved in energy. NARRATOR: Before attending the class, scouts had to complete a list of
prerequisites. ARDEN DOUGAN: One of the harder requirements is they had to, for 14 days,
look around the house and the area around them and figure out ways people are using
energy and ways they could be they could improve that. TODD DEARBORN: We did a 14-day schedule,
of which we did different things like we instead of using the dryer, we used we hung clothes
outside. And then we used the sun. Like, during the day we wouldn t turn on the lights. RUSHIL
JOSHI: I walked one day to a class instead of my mom driving me. THOMAS FRAZIER: Turn
off the lights when not in use, taking shorter showers to conserve water and energy and basically
things like that. MR. DEARBORN: It s a lot easier than you would have expected it to
do because they re just minor lifestyle changes. NARRATOR: Department of Energy employees volunteered
as merit badge counselors, covering all topics outlined in the Boy Scout energy merit badge
book. MS DOUGAN: It s a great opportunity for members of the department to interact
with the kids and mentor them. Maybe they ll become energy scientists in the future.
NARRATOR: The class wasn t discussion only. Scouts took a moment to look at how devices
use energy and built a few of their own. MS DOUGAN: And energy merit badge is one of those
badges that the scouts do because they re interested in it, because it s fun or something
that they d really like to know more about. And energy s a perfect badge for that, because
it it tells them about their environment, about the world around them. NARRATOR: Energy
is a rare merit badge, with only 62 Boy Scouts in the National Capital Area Council having
earned the badge during 2011. Girl Scouts do not have an energy badge, but were able
to earn a specially made energy patch by completing the Boy Scout energy merit badge requirements.
MR. SIEMINSKI: We worked it to come up with a patch that the Girl Scouts would have. Energy
matters because we think it does. NARRATOR: The event closed with the Girl Scouts receiving
their unique energy matters patches. The Boy Scouts had their blue cards signed to certify
that they completed the class. Their badges will be formally presented at their troop
s court of honor. MR. DEARBORN: The nuclear reactor was probably my favorite. Our counselor
is does a lot of things in nuclear. I didn t know pretty much anything about nuclear
reactors. I knew they were they give off some kind of energy, but I had no clue. (END) hoA=
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