First Aid merit badge extended its reign atop the charts in 2018, while the Exploration, Animation and Bugling merit badges each saw double-digit gains in popularity.

And how’s this for unusual: The exact same number of Scouts earned the Search and Rescue merit badge in 2017 and 2018: 10,107.

Those are just three of the dozens of storylines one can glean from the 2018 merit badge data, released last week by the Boy Scouts of America.

Today, let’s chop, sort and digest those numbers every which way. As always, the goal is to find trends that are interesting and informative.

At the end of this post, I’ll include the raw numbers so you can do your own spreadsheet wizardry. Leave a comment with anything cool you’re able to find.

The Actual Top 10

As usual, every merit badge on this list is required to earn the Eagle Scout award, Scouting’s highest honor.

It makes sense that these would rank highly; they’re the badges the BSA deems most important.

Rank Merit Badge 2018 earned 1 First Aid 69,565 2 Swimming 62,796 3 Citizenship in the World 55,843 4 Environmental Science 54,237 5 Citizenship in the Nation 52,944 6 Communication 51,541 7 Cooking 50,185 8 Camping 49,893 9 Citizenship in the Community 49,863 10 Personal Fitness 49,600

The Alternative Top 10

What happens when we exclude Eagle-required merit badges from the rankings?

When given the choice to earn any of the 120 non-Eagle-required merit badges, which do Scouts prefer?

I think you’ll find a common theme with these 10: They’re offered at most summer camps, giving Scouts an excellent opportunity to complete them.

Rank Merit Badge 2018 earned 1 Fingerprinting 38,239 2 Rifle Shooting 37,695 3 Archery 34,487 4 Leatherwork 33,740 5 Wood Carving 31,910 6 Kayaking 31,362 7 Wilderness Survival 29,392 8 Chess 28,260 9 Canoeing 26,094 10 Fishing 24,688

The Bottom 10

The list excludes Computers (replaced by Digital Technology in 2014) and Cinematography (replaced by Moviemaking in 2013), even though a few Scouts earned each in 2018.

How is that possible? According to the Guide to Advancement, once a Scout starts working on a merit badge, there’s no time limit for finishing — other than the Scout’s 18th birthday.

Some readers will look at the list below and say, “challenge accepted.”

Can you help get your favorite merit badge out of the bottom 10? All it takes is a few motivated merit badge counselors.

Rank Merit Badge 2018 earned 128 Composite Materials 1,646 129 Landscape Architecture 1,495 130 Gardening 1,428 131 Drafting 1,231 132 Journalism 1,153 133 American Labor 1,109 134 Surveying 1,065 135 Stamp Collecting 836 136 (tie) American Business 551 136 (tie) Bugling 551

Who’s up, and who’s down?

One year of numbers can’t tell the whole story. That’s why I like to compare each year’s numbers to the previous year.

When we do that, we discover which merit badges gained and lost popularity year over year.

Top 5 gains

Merit Badge 2017 2018 Rise/Fall Exploration 2,090 3,351 60.3% Public Health 1,798 2,382 32.5% Animation 5,462 6,981 27.8% Traffic Safety 5,689 7,100 24.8% Surveying 863 1,065 23.4%

I’m not surprised to see Exploration get such a big jump. As the BSA’s newest merit badge, Exploration should gain in popularity as more Scouts and leaders learn about its existence.

The Animation merit badge, meanwhile, continues its surge up the charts. It has seen double-digit gains in popularity every year since its 2015 debut.

At No. 7 in gains, Bugling merit badge just missed the top 5, but it’s worth mentioning. The badge saw a 21.4 percent popularity jump from 2017 to 2018, meaning that many more campsites were filled with the sweet sounds of bugles last year.

Top 5 losses

Merit Badge 2017 2018 Rise/Fall Archaeology 6,876 6,056 -11.9% Stamp Collecting 954 836 -12.4% Soil and Water Conservation 9,484 8,199 -13.5% Pulp and Paper 6,879 5,911 -14.1% Backpacking 3,498 2,295 -34.4%

Once again, I did not include the discontinued Computers and Cinematography merit badges in these calculations.

That’s six straight years of declining numbers for the Backpacking merit badge. To be fair, its requirements are pretty daunting. Scouts must complete three different backpacking treks of at least three days each and at least 15 miles each.

On a personal note, I’m sad to see the Pulp and Paper merit badge here.

I earned that one at the 1997 National Scout Jamboree and still remember the strange thrill of making my own paper by hand. Try that with a Kindle.

What’s my source?

So where did these numbers originate? From Local Council Charter Applications. That means they’re based on the actual number earned, not on sales of the badges. Some troops purchase extra emblems in anticipation of future badge earnings, so sales numbers can mislead.

Special thanks to the BSA’s Lynn Adcock for compiling and providing these numbers each year.

The raw data

WARNING: The following section is for stat geeks only. Do not proceed unless you’re ready to see lots of lots of numbers.

Seriously. You could be scrolling for minutes and dissecting digits for days.

…

Still with me?

OK, so keep heading down this rabbit hole to find:

The complete 2018 rankings

Merit badge popularity over the last five years

Lifetime rankings from 1911 to 2018

Every merit badge ranked by its percent change from 2017 to 2018

The complete 2018 rankings

What the colors mean:

Blue : merit badge is required for Eagle

: merit badge is required for Eagle Red : merit badge is considered “new” — released in 2014 or later

Rank Merit Badge 2018 earned 1 First Aid 69,565 2 Swimming 62,796 3 Citizenship in the World 55,843 4 Environmental Science 54,237 5 Citizenship in the Nation 52,944 6 Communication 51,541 7 Cooking 50,185 8 Camping 49,893 9 Citizenship in the Community 49,863 10 Personal Fitness 49,600 11 Family Life 48,787 12 Personal Management 48,393 13 Emergency Preparedness 43,063 14 Fingerprinting 38,239 15 Rifle Shooting 37,695 16 Archery 34,487 17 Leatherwork 33,740 18 Wood Carving 31,910 19 Kayaking 31,362 20 Wilderness Survival 29,392 21 Chess 28,260 22 Canoeing 26,094 23 Fishing 24,688 24 Art 21,793 25 Lifesaving 20,952 26 Shotgun Shooting 20,241 27 Space Exploration 19,574 28 Climbing 18,911 29 Mammal Study 17,982 30 Geology 17,242 31 Game Design 16,020 32 Indian Lore 16,003 33 Astronomy 15,531 34 Robotics 15,285 35 Basketry 14,546 36 Photography 14,161 37 Pioneering 14,099 38 Small Boat Sailing 13,886 39 Aviation 13,745 40 Geocaching 12,972 41 Metalwork 12,768 42 Orienteering 12,538 43 Weather 12,430 44 Nature 12,372 45 Engineering 12,280 46 Welding 11,981 47 Music 11,860 48 Fish & Wildlife Management 11,822 49 Fire Safety 11,673 50 Forestry 11,326 51 Chemistry 11,140 52 Automotive Maintenance 10,360 53 Search and Rescue 10,107 54 Electricity 9,979 55 Motor Boating 9,697 56 Moviemaking 9,416 57 Oceanography 9,021 58 Horsemanship 8,837 59 Rowing 8,377 60 Sculpture 8,212 61 Soil and Water Conservation 8,199 62 Pottery 7,890 63 Digital Technology 7,857 64 Electronics 7,731 65 Public Speaking 7,250 66 Sustainability 7,192 67 Signs, Signals and Codes 7,178 68 Traffic Safety 7,100 69 Animation 6,981 70 Snow Sports 6,961 71 Salesmanship 6,936 72 Railroading 6,728 73 Nuclear Science 6,678 74 Sports 6,594 75 Crime Prevention 6,456 76 Hiking 6,362 77 Archaeology 6,056 78 Pulp and Paper 5,911 79 Scouting Heritage 5,901 80 Reptile and Amphibian Study 5,786 81 Cycling 5,671 82 Law 5,656 83 Disabilities Awareness 5,571 84 American Heritage 5,530 85 Radio 5,205 86 Bird Study 5,101 87 Woodwork 4,939 88 Pets 4,890 89 Fly Fishing 4,873 90 Plumbing 4,862 91 Genealogy 4,830 92 Coin Collecting 4,726 93 Programming 4,723 94 Mining in Society 4,650 95 Scholarship 4,433 96 Collections 4,280 97 Architecture 3,881 98 Medicine 3,878 99 Reading 3,873 100 Animal Science 3,769 101 Painting 3,709 102 Home Repairs 3,579 103 Inventing 3,494 104 Entrepreneurship 3,353 105 Exploration 3,351 106 Graphic Arts 3,343 107 Safety 3,322 108 Whitewater 3,199 109 Dentistry 3,110 110 Golf 3,060 111 Dog Care 3,025 112 Water Sports 2,937 113 Athletics 2,808 114 Insect Study 2,716 115 Veterinary Medicine 2,716 116 Model Design and Building 2,674 117 Energy 2,607 118 Plant Science 2,569 119 Textile 2,530 120 American Cultures 2,519 121 Public Health 2,382 122 Truck Transportation 2,313 123 Backpacking 2,295 124 Theater 2,294 125 Farm Mechanics 2,226 126 Scuba Diving 2,036 127 Skating 1,898 128 Composite Materials 1,646 129 Landscape Architecture 1,495 130 Gardening 1,428 131 Drafting 1,231 132 Journalism 1,153 133 American Labor 1,109 134 Surveying 1,065 135 Stamp Collecting 836 136 American Business 551 137 Bugling 551 138 Computers 202 139 Cinematography 1

Merit badge popularity over the last five years

Sorted alphabetically.

Merit Badge 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 American Business 650 587 627 613 551 American Cultures 2,174 2,233 2,218 2,298 2,519 American Heritage 5,333 5,599 4,952 5,496 5,530 American Labor 992 1,106 812 901 1,109 Animal Science 4,042 4,414 3,852 3,848 3,769 Animation – 1,099 4,637 5,462 6,981 Archaeology 8,652 7,590 7,388 6,876 6,056 Archery 43,238 41,879 39,419 35,301 34,487 Architecture 4,019 3,362 3,230 3,654 3,881 Art 25,438 24,374 22,990 21,567 21,793 Astronomy 15,758 16,706 16,355 15,702 15,531 Athletics 3,241 3,604 3,125 2,754 2,808 Automotive Maintenance 9,763 9,961 10,748 10,205 10,360 Aviation 17,522 15,170 14,477 14,347 13,745 Backpacking 4,169 3,973 3,963 3,498 2,295 Basketry 17,531 17,158 15,282 15,406 14,546 Bird Study 5,641 5,587 5,199 4,965 5,101 Bugling 606 492 479 454 551 Camping* 54,265 54,342 53,534 50,871 49,893 Canoeing 31,833 29,461 28,288 26,052 26,094 Chemistry 10,594 10,560 10,865 10,248 11,140 Chess 25,266 27,235 27,416 26,919 28,260 Cinematography 4,026 1,260 841 231 1 Citizenship in the Community* 51,728 52,071 51,975 48,736 49,863 Citizenship in the Nation* 56,490 57,161 57,919 52,949 52,944 Citizenship in the World* 61,303 60,171 59,363 55,917 55,843 Climbing 23,200 21,574 21,171 18,356 18,911 Coin Collecting 5,303 4,715 4,135 3,930 4,726 Collections 4,295 4,004 3,753 4,140 4,280 Communication* 54,081 55,738 53,367 50,503 51,541 Composite Materials 1,614 2,183 1,597 1,407 1,646 Computers 12,973 1,686 354 207 202 Cooking* 99,908 67,691 55,841 51,004 50,185 Crime Prevention 6,917 6,581 6,178 6,721 6,456 Cycling** 6,268 6,626 6,334 5,742 5,671 Dentistry 3,416 3,485 2,910 3,135 3,110 Digital Technology 3,014 9,383 9,344 8,768 7,857 Disabilities Awareness 6,204 6,153 5,833 5,239 5,571 Dog Care 2,955 2,666 2,414 2,661 3,025 Drafting 1,318 1,339 1,168 1,119 1,231 Electricity 10,460 10,035 9,762 9,245 9,979 Electronics 8,860 8,352 7,814 7,524 7,731 Emergency Preparedness*** 46,069 47,879 47,004 43,351 43,063 Energy 3,669 3,190 2,955 2,749 2,607 Engineering 11,624 11,735 11,429 11,773 12,280 Entrepreneurship 2,496 2,927 3,365 3,473 3,353 Environmental Science**** 67,218 63,783 60,026 55,703 54,237 Exploration – – – 2,090 3,351 Family Life* 49,516 51,008 50,177 48,774 48,787 Farm Mechanics 2,486 2,244 2,368 2,307 2,226 Fingerprinting 43,820 43,743 40,700 38,989 38,239 Fire Safety 12,395 12,782 12,257 11,746 11,673 First Aid* 80,917 80,716 75,256 69,563 69,565 Fish & Wildlife Management 13,749 13,164 12,647 11,615 11,822 Fishing 28,119 26,050 25,256 24,343 24,688 Fly Fishing 4,537 3,981 4,577 4,597 4,873 Forestry 14,465 12,905 12,519 11,456 11,326 Game Design 11,853 12,313 13,689 13,810 16,020 Gardening 1,641 1,582 1,375 1,450 1,428 Genealogy 5,474 5,316 4,570 5,213 4,830 Geocaching 16,785 15,582 15,210 12,604 12,972 Geology 21,282 22,180 18,516 18,674 17,242 Golf 3,955 3,826 3,605 3,248 3,060 Graphic Arts 3,189 3,356 3,251 3,066 3,343 Hiking** 7,344 6,967 7,485 7,084 6,362 Home Repairs 3,866 3,288 3,325 3,432 3,579 Horsemanship 11,905 10,878 9,457 8,641 8,837 Indian Lore 22,997 22,241 18,234 17,003 16,003 Insect Study 3,164 3,550 2,341 2,644 2,716 Inventing 2,902 3,369 2,834 3,296 3,494 Journalism 955 1,037 970 1,127 1,153 Kayaking 35,533 34,054 33,137 30,466 31,362 Landscape Architecture 1,496 1,434 1,494 1,483 1,495 Law 5,463 5,633 5,226 5,402 5,656 Leatherwork 42,565 40,805 37,920 35,490 33,740 Lifesaving*** 24,474 23,983 22,382 20,748 20,952 Mammal Study 24,060 23,427 21,303 18,715 17,982 Medicine 3,725 3,807 3,767 3,561 3,878 Metalwork 12,949 12,340 12,639 12,990 12,768 Mining in Society 3,519 4,613 4,224 4,673 4,650 Model Design and Building 2,612 2,795 2,770 2,564 2,674 Motor Boating 10,748 9,880 9,515 9,517 9,697 Moviemaking 6,195 10,064 10,851 9,262 9,416 Music 12,903 12,369 11,689 10,592 11,860 Nature 15,046 14,679 13,635 11,586 12,372 Nuclear Science 6,657 6,728 7,005 6,702 6,678 Oceanography 9,991 9,892 8,499 7,763 9,021 Orienteering 16,871 15,642 13,753 11,742 12,538 Painting 4,346 4,245 3,829 3,222 3,709 Personal Fitness* 50,693 52,499 52,079 50,428 49,600 Personal Management* 48,299 51,105 50,251 49,287 48,393 Pets 4,821 4,645 4,278 4,289 4,890 Photography 17,804 16,931 15,142 13,550 14,161 Pioneering 18,117 17,341 15,959 13,870 14,099 Plant Science 2,680 2,922 2,363 2,107 2,569 Plumbing 4,982 4,960 4,510 4,398 4,862 Pottery 9,050 8,384 8,230 7,940 7,890 Programming 2,970 3,577 4,085 4,138 4,723 Public Health 1,821 1,780 1,837 1,798 2,382 Public Speaking 7,091 7,793 7,497 7,035 7,250 Pulp and Paper 6,250 7,379 6,081 6,879 5,911 Radio 6,665 6,709 6,442 5,840 5,205 Railroading 6,694 7,651 6,599 6,663 6,728 Reading 4,712 4,179 3,574 3,524 3,873 Reptile and Amphibian Study 7,547 6,700 6,411 6,053 5,786 Rifle Shooting 45,839 43,196 41,444 37,796 37,695 Robotics 13,708 13,700 14,264 15,031 15,285 Rowing 10,557 9,995 9,408 8,239 8,377 Safety 3,778 3,937 4,267 3,280 3,322 Salesmanship 6,648 6,412 6,031 5,908 6,936 Scholarship 5,362 4,911 4,316 4,171 4,433 Scouting Heritage 5,572 5,558 5,266 5,916 5,901 Scuba Diving 1,989 2,135 1,792 1,842 2,036 Sculpture 9,887 10,042 8,900 8,715 8,212 Search and Rescue 12,359 11,725 10,361 10,107 10,107 Shotgun Shooting 23,970 21,895 20,912 19,703 20,241 Signs, Signals and Codes – 3,453 8,025 7,364 7,178 Skating 2,010 1,972 1,953 1,785 1,898 Small Boat Sailing 16,511 15,092 14,108 14,182 13,886 Snow Sports 8,227 7,251 7,177 7,267 6,961 Soil and Water Conservation 11,296 10,437 10,341 9,484 8,199 Space Exploration 22,625 21,607 20,137 18,994 19,574 Sports 8,032 8,272 7,626 6,556 6,594 Stamp Collecting 863 996 793 954 836 Surveying 1,065 879 1,028 863 1,065 Sustainability **** 5,428 6,625 6,813 7,295 7,192 Swimming** 72,503 71,821 67,446 62,057 62,796 Textile 3,694 3,225 2,480 2,205 2,530 Theater 2,273 2,665 2,543 2,332 2,294 Traffic Safety 7,088 5,604 6,072 5,689 7,100 Truck Transportation 2,182 2,157 2,391 2,466 2,313 Veterinary Medicine 2,875 2,764 2,580 2,451 2,716 Water Sports 3,594 3,389 3,123 2,966 2,937 Weather 15,846 14,622 12,665 12,690 12,430 Welding 11,061 11,019 10,737 10,656 11,981 Whitewater 3,565 2,888 3,476 2,832 3,199 Wilderness Survival 40,395 37,581 35,221 30,814 29,392 Wood Carving 38,749 36,890 34,938 32,943 31,910 Woodwork 5,198 5,242 4,975 5,212 4,939 Total 2,077,550 2,011,860 1,919,912 1,813,834 1,822,137

* On required list for Eagle Rank

** Required for Eagle (must complete Cycling, Hiking or Swimming)

*** Required for Eagle (must complete Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving)

**** Required for Eagle (must complete Environmental Science or Sustainability)

Lifetime rankings from 1911 to 2018

Two notes:

This list includes only merit badges that could be earned in 2018. Sorry, but that means Poultry Farming merit badge didn’t make the cut. The rankings are interesting but don’t tell the whole story. A merit badge released more recently will rank lower than one of the original 1911 merit badges. For example, Home Repairs is No. 17 lifetime, but it was released in 1943. Kayaking is nearly nine times more popular today, but it’s only been around for six years.

Rank Merit Badge 1911 to 2018 1 First Aid* 7,277,000 2 Swimming** 6,578,887 3 Camping* 4,871,352 4 Cooking* 4,563,082 5 Citizenship in the Community* 3,664,401 6 Citizenship in the Nation* 3,425,710 7 Canoeing 3,133,529 8 Lifesaving*** 3,125,473 9 Safety 2,949,820 10 Environmental Science**** 2,946,336 11 Personal Fitness* 2,703,833 12 Fire Safety 2,656,110 13 Leatherwork 2,595,034 14 Basketry 2,502,267 15 Citizenship in the World* 2,500,053 16 Pioneering 2,474,477 17 Home Repairs 2,428,794 18 Wood Carving 2,424,339 19 Communication* 2,267,277 20 Fishing 2,089,286 21 Emergency Preparedness*** 2,018,626 22 Personal Management* 2,011,022 23 Fingerprinting 1,836,069 24 Wilderness Survival 1,768,336 25 Archery 1,754,930 26 Rowing 1,753,857 27 Nature 1,717,714 28 Public Health 1,525,442 29 Reading 1,498,194 30 Rifle Shooting 1,488,110 31 Art 1,399,534 32 Music 1,365,267 33 Family Life* 1,359,091 34 Hiking** 1,358,115 35 Scholarship 1,294,545 36 Mammal Study 1,276,775 37 Indian Lore 1,271,349 38 Forestry 1,199,151 39 Metalwork 1,185,376 40 Sports 1,174,437 41 Soil and Water Conservation 1,160,706 42 Athletics 1,077,296 43 Woodwork 992,294 44 Orienteering 870,816 45 Electricity 843,826 46 Geology 723,734 47 Small Boat Sailing 709,577 48 Astronomy 703,548 49 Fish & Wildlife Management 702,456 50 Horsemanship 679,532 51 Pets 676,765 52 Reptile and Amphibian Study 673,052 53 Public Speaking 672,078 54 Aviation 662,236 55 Space Exploration 640,183 56 Weather 630,365 57 Motor Boating 624,947 58 Bird Study 603,037 59 Shotgun Shooting 603,031 60 Cycling** 599,551 61 Painting 577,129 62 Photography 565,293 63 Computers 521,257 64 Coin Collecting 514,650 65 Climbing 496,522 66 Snow Sports 479,874 67 Dog Care 442,228 68 Pottery 416,395 69 Plumbing 410,108 70 Gardening 393,348 71 Chemistry 393,276 72 Stamp Collecting 393,086 73 Salesmanship 350,117 74 Sculpture 338,277 75 Oceanography 323,521 76 Railroading 264,996 77 Water Sports 262,469 78 Genealogy 251,567 79 Electronics 247,926 80 Model Design and Building 230,979 81 Architecture 230,572 82 Farm Mechanics 229,947 83 Drafting 229,515 84 Backpacking 228,005 85 Kayaking 222,534 86 Automotive Maintenance 208,359 87 Law 206,682 88 Nuclear Science 200,849 89 Chess 197,711 90 Radio 196,678 91 Engineering 193,753 92 Archaeology 183,900 93 Traffic Safety 182,036 94 Skating 180,968 95 Golf 180,509 96 American Heritage 180,398 97 Insect Study 176,334 98 Bugling 172,050 99 Crime Prevention 162,604 100 Collections 158,035 101 Surveying 155,483 102 Textile 153,450 103 Dentistry 148,024 104 Truck Transportation 146,904 105 Disabilities Awareness 144,272 106 Pulp and Paper 140,857 107 Geocaching 132,847 108 Journalism 110,669 109 Cinematography 106,448 110 Robotics 104,058 111 Whitewater 100,847 112 Theater 93,496 113 Energy 91,894 114 Landscape Architecture 87,617 115 Medicine 87,561 116 Veterinary Medicine 86,596 117 American Cultures 77,037 118 Animal Science 76,960 119 Welding 70,395 120 Game Design 70,342 121 Search and Rescue 65,936 122 Graphic Arts 63,959 123 American Business 55,518 124 Plant Science 54,762 125 Scouting Heritage 49,488 126 Moviemaking 45,788 127 Fly Fishing 45,207 128 Digital Technology 38,366 129 Entrepreneurship 35,560 130 Sustainability **** 33,943 131 American Labor 26,736 132 Signs, Signals and Codes 26,020 133 Inventing 24,086 134 Mining in Society 21,679 135 Scuba Diving 20,865 136 Composite Materials 20,078 137 Programming 19,973 138 Animation 18,179 139 Exploration 5,441

Every merit badge ranked by its percent change from 2017 to 2018

Merit Badge 2017 2018 Rise/Fall Exploration 2,090 3,351 60.3% Public Health 1,798 2,382 32.5% Animation 5,462 6,981 27.8% Traffic Safety 5,689 7,100 24.8% Surveying 863 1,065 23.4% American Labor 901 1,109 23.1% Plant Science 2,107 2,569 21.9% Bugling 454 551 21.4% Coin Collecting 3,930 4,726 20.3% Salesmanship 5,908 6,936 17.4% Composite Materials 1,407 1,646 17.0% Oceanography 7,763 9,021 16.2% Game Design 13,810 16,020 16.0% Painting 3,222 3,709 15.1% Textile 2,205 2,530 14.7% Programming 4,138 4,723 14.1% Pets 4,289 4,890 14.0% Dog Care 2,661 3,025 13.7% Whitewater 2,832 3,199 13.0% Welding 10,656 11,981 12.4% Music 10,592 11,860 12.0% Veterinary Medicine 2,451 2,716 10.8% Plumbing 4,398 4,862 10.6% Scuba Diving 1,842 2,036 10.5% Drafting 1,119 1,231 10.0% Reading 3,524 3,873 9.9% American Cultures 2,298 2,519 9.6% Graphic Arts 3,066 3,343 9.0% Medicine 3,561 3,878 8.9% Chemistry 10,248 11,140 8.7% Electricity 9,245 9,979 7.9% Nature 11,586 12,372 6.8% Orienteering 11,742 12,538 6.8% Disabilities Awareness 5,239 5,571 6.3% Skating 1,785 1,898 6.3% Scholarship 4,171 4,433 6.3% Architecture 3,654 3,881 6.2% Inventing 3,296 3,494 6.0% Fly Fishing 4,597 4,873 6.0% Chess 26,919 28,260 5.0% Law 5,402 5,656 4.7% Photography 13,550 14,161 4.5% Engineering 11,773 12,280 4.3% Model Design and Building 2,564 2,674 4.3% Home Repairs 3,432 3,579 4.3% Collections 4,140 4,280 3.4% Public Speaking 7,035 7,250 3.1% Space Exploration 18,994 19,574 3.1% Climbing 18,356 18,911 3.0% Kayaking 30,466 31,362 2.9% Geocaching 12,604 12,972 2.9% Electronics 7,524 7,731 2.8% Bird Study 4,965 5,101 2.7% Shotgun Shooting 19,703 20,241 2.7% Insect Study 2,644 2,716 2.7% Citizenship in the Community* 48,736 49,863 2.3% Journalism 1,127 1,153 2.3% Horsemanship 8,641 8,837 2.3% Communication* 50,503 51,541 2.1% Athletics 2,754 2,808 2.0% Motor Boating 9,517 9,697 1.9% Fish & Wildlife Management 11,615 11,822 1.8% Robotics 15,031 15,285 1.7% Rowing 8,239 8,377 1.7% Moviemaking 9,262 9,416 1.7% Pioneering 13,870 14,099 1.7% Automotive Maintenance 10,205 10,360 1.5% Fishing 24,343 24,688 1.4% Safety 3,280 3,322 1.3% Swimming** 62,057 62,796 1.2% Art 21,567 21,793 1.0% Lifesaving*** 20,748 20,952 1.0% Railroading 6,663 6,728 1.0% Landscape Architecture 1,483 1,495 0.8% American Heritage 5,496 5,530 0.6% Sports 6,556 6,594 0.6% Canoeing 26,052 26,094 0.2% Family Life* 48,774 48,787 0.0% First Aid* 69,563 69,565 0.0% Search and Rescue 10,107 10,107 0.0% Citizenship in the Nation* 52,949 52,944 0.0% Citizenship in the World* 55,917 55,843 -0.1% Scouting Heritage 5,916 5,901 -0.3% Rifle Shooting 37,796 37,695 -0.3% Nuclear Science 6,702 6,678 -0.4% Mining in Society 4,673 4,650 -0.5% Fire Safety 11,746 11,673 -0.6% Pottery 7,940 7,890 -0.6% Emergency Preparedness*** 43,351 43,063 -0.7% Dentistry 3,135 3,110 -0.8% Water Sports 2,966 2,937 -1.0% Astronomy 15,702 15,531 -1.1% Forestry 11,456 11,326 -1.1% Cycling** 5,742 5,671 -1.2% Sustainability **** 7,295 7,192 -1.4% Gardening 1,450 1,428 -1.5% Cooking* 51,004 50,185 -1.6% Theater 2,332 2,294 -1.6% Personal Fitness* 50,428 49,600 -1.6% Metalwork 12,990 12,768 -1.7% Personal Management* 49,287 48,393 -1.8% Camping* 50,871 49,893 -1.9% Fingerprinting 38,989 38,239 -1.9% Weather 12,690 12,430 -2.0% Animal Science 3,848 3,769 -2.1% Small Boat Sailing 14,182 13,886 -2.1% Archery 35,301 34,487 -2.3% Computers 207 202 -2.4% Signs, Signals and Codes 7,364 7,178 -2.5% Environmental Science**** 55,703 54,237 -2.6% Wood Carving 32,943 31,910 -3.1% Entrepreneurship 3,473 3,353 -3.5% Farm Mechanics 2,307 2,226 -3.5% Mammal Study 18,715 17,982 -3.9% Crime Prevention 6,721 6,456 -3.9% Aviation 14,347 13,745 -4.2% Snow Sports 7,267 6,961 -4.2% Reptile and Amphibian Study 6,053 5,786 -4.4% Wilderness Survival 30,814 29,392 -4.6% Leatherwork 35,490 33,740 -4.9% Energy 2,749 2,607 -5.2% Woodwork 5,212 4,939 -5.2% Basketry 15,406 14,546 -5.6% Sculpture 8,715 8,212 -5.8% Golf 3,248 3,060 -5.8% Indian Lore 17,003 16,003 -5.9% Truck Transportation 2,466 2,313 -6.2% Genealogy 5,213 4,830 -7.3% Geology 18,674 17,242 -7.7% American Business 613 551 -10.1% Hiking** 7,084 6,362 -10.2% Radio 5,840 5,205 -10.9% Archaeology 6,876 6,056 -11.9% Stamp Collecting 954 836 -12.4% Soil and Water Conservation 9,484 8,199 -13.5% Pulp and Paper 6,879 5,911 -14.1% Backpacking 3,498 2,295 -34.4%