Requirement
5. Choose one, and check first whether you can arrange it
Required Often forgotten
Six routes. Five of them need a parent or guardian's permission and the counselor's approval, and four of those need somebody to host you or talk to you. One needs none of it.
Notes and warnings
Warning. FIVE OF THESE SIX ROUTES NEED PERMISSION, AND FOUR NEED SOMEBODY TO HOST YOU. A museum with a mining exhibit, a mine that will admit a visitor, an equipment manufacturer, or a historian or community leader willing to be interviewed. None of that can be arranged on the day. ONLY 5(e) NEEDS NONE OF IT: two methods of reducing rock in size and the difference between smelting and refining, discussed with your counselor. 5(a), the virtual tour, is the other one that can be done from home, needing your parent or guardian's approval and your counselor's assistance but no travel. If you want the mine visit, and it is much the most interesting thing on this badge, ask at your first meeting rather than at requirement 5.
What this is made of
- 5(a). Take a virtual tour of two types of mine
- 5(b). Visit a mining or minerals exhibit at a museum
- 5(c). Visit an active mine
- 5(d). Visit a mining equipment manufacturer or supplier
- 5(e). Discuss size reduction, smelting and refining
- 5(f). Research a local mine, and interview someone about its effect
Where this step comes from
- Mining in Society Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31), Requirement 5