Bear Badge Requirements

As revised in the 2005 edition of the Bear Cub Scout Book.

To earn the Bear Badge, a Cub Scout must complete 12 achievements out of a possible 24 that are offered in the book. The achievements are grouped in 4 major areas, GOD, COUNTRY, FAMILY, and SELF. Within each group, a required number of achievements must be completed, as indicated below. Also, any achievements that they do NOT use to earn the Bear Badge may be used to earn Arrow Points.

(Note that these achievements, as were the Wolf activities, are primarily done at home and signed off by an adult family member after the boy has completed each one. The book is then shown to the Den Leader who records the progress and also signs the boy's book.)

The Bear Achievements are as follows, page number references to the Bear Book are in parenthesis.

If the Cub Scout has not previously earned the Bobcat Badge, it must be earned first.

ACHIEVEMENTS

God (Do one)
1. Ways We Worship
2. Emblems of Faith


Country (Do three)
3. What Makes America Special?
4. Tall Tales
5. Sharing Your World With Wildlife
6. Take Care of Your Planet
7. Law Enforcement is a Big Job


Family (Do four)

8. The Past is Exciting and Important
9. What's Cooking?
10. Family Fun
11. Be ready!
12. Family Outdoor Adventure
13. Saving Well, Spending Well


Self (Do four)

14. Ride Right
15. Games, Games, Games!
16. Building Muscles
17. Information Please
18. Jot it Down
19. Shavings and Chips
20. Sawdust and Nails
21. Build a Model
22. Tying it All Up
23. Sports, Sports, Sports
24. Be a Leader

1. WAYS WE WORSHIP (Page 26)
   Practice your religion as you are taught in your home, church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious community.
   1. Complete the character Connection for Faith.
   2. Make a list of things you can do this week to practice your religion as you are taught in your home, church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious community. Check them off your list as you complete them; in song - in prayer - in study - and by kind and thoughtful acts toward others.

   Back to the Achievements List

2. EMBLEMS OF FAITH (Page 30)
   Earn the religious emblem of your faith. (A list of the religious emblems available to Cub Scouts is listed on this site.  Click here to see it.)

Back to the Achievements List

3. WHAT MAKES AMERICA SPECIAL?  (Page 34)
   (Do requirement (a) and (j) two of the other requirements. 
   1. Write or tell what makes America special to you.
   2. With the help of your family or den leader, find out about two famous Americans. Tell the things they did or are doing to improve our way of life. 
   3. Find out something about the old homes near where you live. Go and see two of them. 
   4. Find out where places of historical interest are located in or near your town or city.   Go and visit one of them with your family or den. 
   5. Choose a state;  it can be your favorite one or your home state.  Name its state bird, tree, and flower. Describe its flag. Give the date it was admitted to the union.
   6. Be a member of the color guard in a flag ceremony for your den or pack.
   7. Display the U.S. flag in your home or fly it on three national holidays.
   8. Learn how to raise and lower a U.S. flag properly for an outdoor ceremony.
   9. Participate in an outdoor flag ceremony.
   10. Complete the Character Connection for Citizenship.

       Back to the Achievements List

4. TALL TALES  (Page 42)
   Do all three requirements.
   1. Tell in your own words what folklore is. List some folklore stories, folk songs, or historical legends from your own state or part of the country.
   2. Name at least five stories about American folklore. Point out on a United States map where they happened. 
   3. Read two folklore stories and tell your favorite one to your den.

      Back to the Achievements List

5. SHARING YOUR WORLD WITH WILDLIFE (Page 50)
   This achievement is also part of the World Conservation Award.
   Do four of the following requirements.
   1. Choose a bird or animal that you like and find out how it lives. Make a poster showing what you have learned.
   2. Build or make a bird feeder or birdhouse.
   3. Explain what a wildlife conservation officer does.
   4. Visit one of the following:
      Zoo, Nature center, Wildlife refuge, Game preserve.
   5. Name one animal that has become extinct in the last 100 years. Tell why animals become extinct. Name one animal that is on the endangered species list.

      Back to the Achievements List

6. TAKE CARE OF YOUR PLANET (Page 56)
   Do three of the following requirements.
   1. Save 5 pounds of glass or aluminum, or 1 month of daily newspapers. Turn them in at a recycling center or use your community's recycling service.
   2. Plant a tree in your yard, or on the grounds of the group that operates your Cub Scout pack, or in a park or other public place. Be sure to get permission first.  
   3. Call city or county officials or your trash hauling company and find out what happens to your trash after it is hauled away.
   4. List all the ways water is used in your home. Search for dripping faucets or other ways water may be wasted. With an adult repair or correct those problems.
   5. Discuss with an adult in your family the kinds of energy your family uses. 
   6. Find out more about your family's use of electricity.
   7. Take part in a den or pack neighborhood clean-up project.

      Back to the Achievements List

7. LAW ENFORCEMENT IS A BIG JOB (Page 64)
   Do all six requirements.
   1. Practice one way police gather evidence; by taking fingerprints or shoeprints, or taking tire track casts.
   2. Visit your local sheriff's office or police station or talk with a law enforcement office visiting your den or pack to discuss crime prevention.
   3. Help with crime prevention for your home.
   4. Be sure you know where to get help in your neighborhood.
   5. Learn the phone numbers to use in an emergency and post them by each phone in your home.
   6. Know what you can do to help law enforcement.

      Back to the Achievements List

8. THE PAST IS EXCITING AND IMPORTANT (Page 72)
   Do requirement (g) and two other requirements.
   1. Visit your library or newspaper office. Ask to see back issues of newspapers or an almanac. 
   2. Find someone who was a Cub Scout a long time ago. Talk with him about what Cub Scouting was like then.
   3. Start or add to an existing den or pack scrapbook.
   4. Trace your family back through your grandparents or great- grandparents; or, talk to a grandparent about what it was like when he or she was younger. 
   5. Find out some history about your community.
   6. Start your own history; keep a journal for 2 weeks.
   7. Complete the Character Connection for Respect.

   Back to the Achievements List

9. WHAT'S COOKING? (Page 70)
   Do four requirements.
   1. With an adult, bake cookies. 
   2. With an adult, make snacks for the next den meeting  part of your supper.
   3. With an adult prepare one part of your breakfast, one part of your lunch, and one part of your supper.
   4. Make a list of the "junk foods" you eat. Discuss "junk food" with a parent or teacher. 
   5. Make some trail food for a hike. 
   6. With an adult, make a dessert for your family.
   7. With an adult, cook something outdoors.

   Back to the Achievements List

10. FAMILY FUN (Page 90)
    Do both requirements.
    1. Go on a day trip or evening out with members of your family.
    2. Have a family fun night at home.

       Back to the Achievements List

11. BE READY! (Page 96)
    Do requirements (a) through (e) and requirement (g); requirement (f) is recommended, but not required. 
    1. Tell what to do in case of an accident in the home. A family member needs help. Someone's clothes catch on fire. 
    2. Tell what to do in case of a water accident.
    3. Tell what to do in case of a school bus accident.
    4. Tell what to do in case of a car accident.
    5. With your family, plan escape routes from your home and have a practice drill.
    6. Have a health checkup by a physician (optional).
    7. Complete the Character Connection for Courage.

    Back to the Achievements List

12. FAMILY OUTDOOR ADVENTURE (Page 106)
    Do three requirements.
    1. Go camping with your family.
    2. Go on a hike with your family.
    3. Have a picnic with your family.
    4. Attend an outdoor event with your family.
    5. Plan your outdoor family day.

       Back to the Achievements List

13. SAVING WELL, SPENDING WELL (Page 112)
    Do four requirements.
    1. Go grocery shopping with a parent or other adult member of your family.
    2. Set up a savings account.
    3. Keep a record of how you spend money for 2 weeks.
    4. Pretend you are shopping for a car for your family. 
    5. Discuss family finances with a parent or guardian. 
    6. Play a board game with your family that involves the use of play money. 
    7. With an adult, figure out how much it costs for each person in your home to eat one meal. 

       Back to the Achievements List

14. RIDE RIGHT (Page 118)
    Do requirement (a) and three other six requirements.
    1. Know the rules for bike safety. If your town requires a bicycle license, be sure to get one.
    2. Learn to ride a bike, if you haven't by now. Show that you can follow a winding course for 60 feet doing sharp left and right turns, a U-turn, and an emergency stop.
    3. Keep your bike in good shape. Identify the parts of a bike that should be checked often.
    4. Change a tire on a bicycle.
    5. Protect your bike from theft. Use a bicycle lock.
    6. Ride a bike for 1 mile without rest, and be sure to obey all traffic rules. 
    7. Plan and take a family bike hike.

       Back to the Achievements List

15. GAMES, GAMES, GAMES! (Page 126)
    Do two requirements.
    1. Set up the equipment and play any two of these outdoor games with your family or friends.
       (Backyard golf, Badminton, Croquet, Sidewalk shuffleboard, Kickball, Softball, Tetherball, Horseshoes, Volleyball)
    2. Play two organized games with your den.
    3. Select a game that your den has never played. Explain the rules. Tell them how to play it, and then play it with them. 

       Back to the Achievements List

16. BUILDING MUSCLES (Page 130)
    Do all three requirements.
    1. Do physical fitness stretching exercises. Then do curl-ups, push-ups, the standing long jump, and the softball throw. 
    2. With a friend, compete in at least six different two-person contests. (Many examples in book.)
    3. Compete with your den or pack in the crab relay, gorilla relay, 30-yard dash, and kangaroo relay.

    NOTE TO PARENTS: If a licensed physician certifies that the Cub Scout's physical condition for an indeterminable time doesn't permit him to do three of the requirements in this achievement, the Cubmaster and pack committee may authorize substitution of any three Arrow Point electives.

    Back to the Achievements List

17. INFORMATION, PLEASE  (Page 136)
    Do requirement (a) and three more requirements.
    1. With an adult in your family, choose a TV show. Watch it together. 
    2. Play a game of charades at your den meeting or with your family at home.
    3. Visit a newspaper office, or a TV or radio station and talk to a news reporter.
    4. Use a computer to get information.  Write, spell-check, proofread, and print out a report on what you learned.
    5. Write a letter to a company that makes something you use.  Use e-mail or the U.S. Postal Service.
    6. Talk with a parent or other family member about how getting and giving facts fits into his or her job. 

       Back to the Achievements List

18. JOT IT DOWN  (Page 140)
    Do (h) and four other requirements.
    1. Make a list of the things you want to do today. Check them off when you have done them.
    2. Write two letters to relatives or friends. 
    3. Keep a daily record of your activities for 2 weeks.
    4. Write an invitation to someone.
    5. Write a thank-you note.
    6. Write a story about something you have done with your family.
    7. Write about the activities of your den.
    8. Complete the Character Connection for Honesty. 

       Back to the Achievements List

19. SHAVINGS AND CHIPS (Page 146)
    Do all four requirements.
    1. Know the safety rules for handling a knife.
    2. Show that you know how to take care of and use a pocketknife.
    3. Make a carving with a pocketknife. Work with your den leader or other adult when doing this. 
    4. Earn the Whittling Chip card.

       Back to the Achievements List

20. SAWDUST AND NAILS (Page 152)
    Do all three requirements.
    1. Show how to use and take care of four of these tools. 
       (Crescent wrench, Coping saw, C-clamp, Hand saw, Drill bit, Hammer, Hand drill, Bench vise, Wood plane, Screwdriver, Pliers)
    2. Build your own tool box.
    3. Use at least two tools listed in requirement (a) to fix something.

       Back to the Achievements List

21. BUILD A MODEL (Page 156)
    Do requirement (g) and two of the following requirements.
    1. Build a model from a kit.
    2. Build a display for one of your models.
    3. Pretend you are planning to change the furniture layout in one of the rooms in your home. 
    4. Make a model of a mountain, a meadow, a canyon, or a river. 
    5. Go and see a model of a shopping center or new building that is on display somewhere. 
    6. Make a model of a rocket, boat, car, or plane. 
    7. Complete the Character Connection for Resourcefulness. 

       Back to the Achievements List

22. TYING IT ALL UP (Page 162)
    Do five requirements.
    1. Whip the ends of a rope.
    2. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half hitches, and slip knot.  Tell how each knot is used.
    3. Learn how to keep a rope from tangling.
    4. Coil a rope. Throw it, hitting a 2-foot square marker 20 feet away.
    5. Learn a magic rope trick.
    6. Make your own rope.

       Back to the Achievements List

23. SPORTS, SPORTS, SPORTS (Page 170)
    Do all five requirements.
    1. Learn the rules of and how to play three team sports. 
    2. Learn the rules of and how to play two sports in which only one person is on each side. 
    3. Take part in one team and one individual sport.
    4. Watch a sport on TV with a parent or some other adult member of your family.
    5. Attend a high school, college, or professional sporting event with your family or your den.

       Back to the Achievements List

24. BE A LEADER (Page 174)
    Do requirement (f) and two other requirements.
    1. Help a boy join Cub Scouting, or help a new Cub Scout through the Bobcat trail. 
    2. Serve as a denner or assistant denner.
    3. Plan and conduct a den activity with the approval of your den leader.
    4. Tell two people they have done a good job.
    5. Leadership means choosing a way even when not everybody likes your choice.
    6. Complete the Character Connection for Compassion.