There's a new scout in town: Hacker Scouts

Hacker Scouts are coed clubs where kids aged 8 to 14 can earn badges in everything from special effects wizardry to Dumpster diving.

Thu, Jan 24 2013 at 12:30 PM

Related Topics:

Family Activities, Green Kids, Infographic

For those who love the idea behind the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts but don't love the uniforms, traditions or constrictive rules, there's a new scout in town that might just be a better fit. Hacker Scout organizations are popping up around the country with the goal of helping kids develop technology and DIY skills to master new techniques and earn badges along the way.

Hacker Scouts are open to both girls and boys aged 8 to 14. And they work on less traditional badges than say the Girl Scouts "Making Friends" patch or the Boy Scouts "American Business" Merit Badge. Hacker Scouts work toward achievements such as "learn to solder," "aerial quadcopter," "n00b," and "Dumpster-diver" — "for when you get dirty but get some free stuff."

One site that Hacker Scouts use to earn badges is DIY.org. My girls and I just got sucked in to the vortex of cool badges and activities on that site, and I'm pretty sure they plan to spend the remainder of today's snow day earning the "Yeti" badge. Sounds good to me!

For more on the Hacker Scouts, check out this cool infographic from Backgroundcheck.org:

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

Previous Post
Watch: Colin Powell on why kids need structure

Next Post
Smartphone app to stop child labor