Scouts earn prestigious ‘Supernova’ award
Boy Scouts of America Troop 1903 Eagle Scouts Jakob Ritzdorf, Evan Hendrickson and Lucas Ritzdorf recently earned Dr. Bernard Harris Supernova bronze medals. (Photo courtesy of Tom Ritzdorf)
The achievements of Eagle Scouts Jakob Ritzdorf, Evan Hendrickson and Lucas Ritzdorf have shined brightly enough to earn the Dr. Bernard Harris Supernova Award.
The award is given to Scouts for their accomplishments in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The process to earning the awards was years in the making. The Scouts needed to achieve three Nova awards, which encompasses learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics principles, in addition to completing various activities, according to www.scouting.org.
Additionally, the Scouts needed to earn a minimum of four merit badges in addition to a scholarship badge. Some of the topics they learned about to earn merit badges included: composite materials, digital technology, electricity, engineering, environmental science, fish and wildlife management, geology, programming, robotics, scuba diving and sustainability, according to Tom Ritzdorf, who served as a mentor.
The trio also competed at the Flathead County Science Fair and learned about science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers to be eligible for the award.
“In all, the Scouts were required to do more than 10 hours of research on STEM subjects, and to complete at least six different STEM activities ranging from designing and building a model vehicle, to identifying and tracking satellites in the night sky, to building catapults capable of accurately launching a projectile to hit a target,” Ritzdorf said.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.