Criteria for Merit Badge
[Items in bold are covered by The Mammoth Site]
[Items in italics should be covered by scouts before arriving at The
Mammoth Site]
Classroom Introduction
• Presentation of general geologic principles
• Identification of southern Black Hills rocks
1. Define geology. Discuss how geologists learn about rock formations.
In geology, explain why the study of the present is important to understanding
the past.
2. Pick three resources that can be extracted or mined from Earth for
commercial use. Discuss with your counselor how each product is discovered
and processed.
3. Review a geologic map of your area with your counselor and discuss
the different rock types and estimated ages of rocks represented. Determine
whether the rocks are horizontal, folded, or faulted, and explain how
you arrived at your conclusion.
4. Do ONE of the following:
A. With your parent's and counselor's approval, visit with a geologist, land use planner, or civil engineer. Discuss this professional's work and the tools required in this line of work. Learn about a project that this person is now working on, and ask to see reports and maps created for this project. Discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
B. Learn about the career opportunities available in geology. Pick one that interests you and explain how to prepare for such a career. Discuss what courses might be useful for such a career. You may use resources found on the Internet (with your parent's permission), at the library, in books and articles from periodicals, from television programs, and at school.
The Mammoth Site program covers option
‘D’ in the handbook.
Earth History Option
1. Create a chart showing suggested geological eras and periods. Determine
which period the rocks in your region might have been formed.
2. Explain to your counselor the processes of burial and fossilization,
and discuss the concept of extinction. Identify three plants or animals
on the threatened or endangered list of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
3. Explain to your counselor how fossils provide information about ancient
life, environment, climate, and geography. Discuss the following terms
and explain how animals from each habitat obtain food: benthonic, pelagic,
littoral, lacustrine, open marine, brackish, fluvial, eolian, protected
reef.
4. Collect 10 different fossil plants or animals. Record in a notebook
where you obtained (found, bought, traded) each one. Classify each specimen
to the best of your ability, and explain how each one might have survived
and obtained food. Tell what else you can learn from these fossils.
5. Do ONE of the following:
A. Visit a science museum or the geology department of a local university that has fossils on display. With your parent's and counselor's approval, before you go, make an appointment with a curator or guide who can show you how the fossils are preserved and prepared for display.
B. Visit a structure in your area that was built using fossiliferous rocks. Determine what kind of rock was used and tell your counselor the kinds of fossil evidence you found there.
