America is made up of people from many backgrounds, each with its own foods, faiths, music, and traditions. This badge invites you to step outside your usual circle and learn from others. You'll come away with new friends, new ideas, and a better sense of how people can live well together.
Why it's worth it
Most of the best food, music, games, and words you know came to America from somewhere else, carried by families who kept their traditions alive. American Cultures gets you out of your usual routine to taste, hear, and ask about those traditions firsthand. You'll get better at listening, at being a good guest, and at helping a group of different people feel like one team, which is a skill every patrol leader, coach, and boss needs.
Start this week
- Write down three traditions your own family has, like a holiday food, a song, or a saying, and where you think each one came from.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of an American Cultures counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- With a parent, look at a community calendar or library website for cultural festivals, heritage month events, or open houses in the next two months.
- Make a list of friends, neighbors, or relatives from backgrounds different from yours who might be willing to share a tradition with you.
Requirements · 5
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
Note: Pick three groups of different racial, cultural, national, or ethnic backgrounds, including one from your own, and use them for requirements 1–3.
- Requirement 1
Experience other cultures. Choose 2 of 5
Tips for this section: Look for cultural festivals, heritage days, places of worship with open houses, or library and museum exhibits about other backgrounds. Go with a parent and ask questions politely.
Example for this section: Two experiences, each with a different group, might look like: going to a Lunar New Year parade with your family (1a), and sitting down with a neighbor to hear how her family celebrates Día de los Muertos (1c). Keep notes on what you saw and asked.
- Requirement 1a
Attend a festival, celebration, or other event tied to one of your groups and report what you saw and learned (use a different group for each choice)
- Requirement 1b
Visit a school, place of worship, or other institution connected with one of your groups and report what you saw and learned (use a different group for each choice)
- Requirement 1c
Talk with someone from one of your groups about its heritage and traditions and report what you learned (use a different group for each choice)
- Requirement 1d
Learn a traditional song, dance, poem, or story from one group and teach it to some of your friends (use a different group for each choice)
- Requirement 1e
See a library or museum program or exhibit about one group's traditions and report what you saw and learned (use a different group for each choice)
- Requirement 2
Describe what a city or country might be like today if only one of your groups had ever lived there, then how it might be if all three groups lived there together
Tip: Picture your school or town if everyone shared one background. Think about what foods, holidays, music, and ideas would be missing.
For example: Imagine your school cafeteria, playlist, and sports teams if everyone came from one background. Write a short "day in the life" of that town, then a second one for your real community, and compare what's gained and lost.
- Requirement 3
Describe some differences in religious and social customs among your three groups, plus some ideas or ways of doing things they share
Tip: Ask friends or neighbors from different groups about a holiday or custom they celebrate. Listen with respect and note what is similar to your own traditions.
For example: Make a three-column chart for three groups with rows for a major holiday, a coming-of-age custom, how elders are honored, and a typical wedding. Circle the places where the groups are more alike than you expected.
- Requirement 4
Describe something three people contributed to our country, each person having a different racial, ethnic, or religious background from the others
Tip: The public library can help you find stories of people from many backgrounds who made a difference. Pick ones whose work you find interesting.
For example: Pick three people whose work you already use, like an inventor, an athlete, and a musician from three different backgrounds. For each, write one sentence on what they did and one on what obstacles they faced.
- Requirement 5
Give a talk to your Scout unit or school class about how people of different groups have gotten along, then lead a discussion on helping groups understand each other better
Tip: Practice your talk with your family first. Plan two or three open questions to get your group talking, and make sure everyone gets a turn.
For example: For your troop talk, share one story from your cultural experiences, then ask open questions like "When have you felt like an outsider?" and "What helps a new kid feel welcome in our patrol?" Keep it to about 15 minutes.
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A cultural or heritage festival
You can hear music, try food, and watch dances in one afternoon, and the people running booths are usually glad to explain.
How: Go with a parent or your patrol. Check the festival website ahead of time and plan two or three questions to ask at booths.
A cultural center or heritage museum
Exhibits and staff can tell a community's story in its own words, including how it arrived and what it built here.
How: Have an adult check the website for tours or family days, or call and ask for the education coordinator to arrange a small group visit.
A house of worship's open house or community meal
Many welcome visitors to see their building and learn their customs, which helps with requirement 3.
How: A parent contacts the office to ask when guests are welcome and what visitors should wear or know. Go with your family or a group.
Where it can lead
- TeacherHelps students from many backgrounds learn together in the same classroom.
- Interpreter or translatorHelps people communicate across languages in hospitals, courts, and businesses.
- Social workerConnects families, including newcomers, with services and support in their community.
- Museum educatorPlans exhibits and programs that tell different communities' stories.
Ask yourself
- What do you already know about your own family's background, and what would you like to find out?
- When you were at an event where you didn't know the customs, how did it feel, and what helped?
- Which tradition you learned about would you like to try again or bring into your own life?
- What assumption did you have before this badge that turned out to be wrong?
- How could you help a new Scout from a different background feel at home in your troop?
Good questions to ask someone sharing their culture with you
- What tradition from your family means the most to you, and why?
- What do you wish people understood better about your community?
- How have your family's traditions changed since they first came to this country, or since you were young?
- Is there a food, song, or word you'd want every American to know?
- What's a respectful way for a visitor to take part in your celebrations?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Plan a troop potluck or outing where scouts share a food or tradition from their family's background.
- Help scouts set ground rules for respectful discussion before they lead their talk.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Public library — Books, films, and local event listings about many cultures.
- Local cultural centers and heritage festivals — Great places to meet people and experience traditions firsthand.
- Smithsonian Institution (opens in a new tab) — Online exhibits about the many peoples who shaped America.
- Library of Congress (opens in a new tab) — Photos, recordings, and stories from communities across America's history.
- Ellis Island (National Park Service) (opens in a new tab) — How millions of immigrants arrived and what their first days in America were like.
- National Heritage Fellowships (National Endowment for the Arts) (opens in a new tab) — Meet folk and traditional artists honored for keeping their communities' music, crafts, and dance alive.
Pairs well with
Into this? Explore more
Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.