Troop 89 runs five merit badges as full online courses. Every requirement is covered, every quiz marks itself, and when a requirement produces something to hand in, you upload it straight to your counselor.
They are free, and you work through them at your own pace. Already started one? Pick up where you left off in My Courses.
You need all three of these for Eagle. All three contain a clock that cannot be rushed, so start them earlier than you think you need to.
Eagle-required
Budgeting, saving and investing, insurance, credit and debt, time management, and project planning. The badge that teaches you to run your own money.
12 topics · 45 lessons · 7 quizzes · about 25 hours
Eagle-required
What fitness actually means, how to measure your own, and a 12-week fitness and nutrition program that you design with your counselor and then genuinely run.
8 topics · 33 lessons · 3 quizzes · about 30 hours
Eagle-required
What a family is, two projects you plan and carry out, family meetings on seven subjects, and what makes an effective parent.
12 topics · 37 lessons · 9 quizzes · about 20 hours
Not required for Eagle, and both can be finished in a few weeks. Photography is the quickest way to start if you have never done an online merit badge before.
Quickest to start
Light, exposure, depth of field and composition, how a camera actually makes a picture, editing — and telling a story in eight to twelve photographs.
6 topics · 22 lessons · 4 quizzes · about 8 hours
No waiting period
Interview someone who started a business, come up with your own idea, then write a complete business plan for it — the product, the customers, the costs, the price, and the flyer.
12 topics · 35 lessons · 8 quizzes · about 12 hours
There are over a hundred merit badges, and Troop 89 has built courses for four of them. For everything else, start with the official list and talk to your Scoutmaster about finding a counselor.
