STEM Nova and Supernova Awards (retired)
Scouting America has ended the national STEM Nova and Supernova program. Councils report that national support and Scoutbook recording stopped on June 1, 2025, and that each council may now run a STEM award of its own. Ask your council what it offers.
The national program has ended
Scouting America no longer runs the STEM Nova and Supernova awards nationally. Its page for them on scouting.org now says only that the content has been phased out.
Councils that have published notices about it say:
- the national program was discontinued, with June 1, 2025 the date the remaining national pieces ended;
- Nova and Supernova awards, and their counselors, are **no longer recorded in Scoutbook**;
- each council may decide whether to run a STEM award of its own, with its own requirements, and some do while others have not.
What that means for a Scout
- There are no national requirements to work to any more, so this site has no plan for Nova or Supernova.
- Ask your council whether it runs a STEM award, and what it asks for. A council award is that council's, and differs from place to place.
- STEM merit badges are unaffected. Every STEM merit badge on this site is still a current Scouting America merit badge.
Why this page exists
People still look for Nova, and an empty section of the site would suggest it was coming. It is not, so this page says so.
Sources for this page
- STEM Nova Awards (phased out), Expired-content notice · Scouting America's own page for the program, which now reads as phased out.
- STEM/Nova Awards, Council web page · The June 1, 2025 date, the end of Scoutbook recording, and one council continuing its own STEM awards.
- STEM Nova Awards Update, July 2023 · An earlier council notice that the program was discontinued at the national level.
Last checked against its sources on .