COSMIC Awards and Requirements

Use this page to choose the next COSMIC award and open the correct requirements for the participant’s Scouting program. Every participant begins with COSMIC First Steps. Topic patches may then be earned in any order.

COSMIC First Steps

First Steps introduces STEM, the scientific method, the engineering design process, the COSMIC patch system, and the COSMIC STEM Promise. It is required before a participant earns any topic patch.

Open First Steps requirements

Current COSMIC Patch Awards

Eclipses

• Cub Scouts requirements
• Scouts BSA and older youth requirements

Biochemistry

• Cub Scouts requirements
• Scouts BSA and older youth requirements

Computer Hardware

• Cub Scouts requirements
• Scouts BSA and older youth requirements

Radio Technologies

• Cub Scouts requirements
• Scouts BSA and older youth requirements

Mycology (fungi)

• Cub Scouts requirements
• Scouts BSA and older youth requirements

Mechanical Engineering Design & Manufacturing

• Cub Scouts requirements — Coming Soon
• Scouts BSA and older youth requirements — Coming Soon

Coming Soon

• Houston Toad
• Microprocessors
• Additional topics approved by the CAC STEM Committee

What Every Patch Award Includes

• Prerequisites connected to an adventure, merit badge, or brief introductory activity.
• Topic-specific and age-appropriate safety requirements.
• Vocabulary participants define, illustrate, or use in context.
• Hands-on experiments, models, demonstrations, field visits, coding, or research.
• A discussion with the Counselor about learning, enjoyment, and improvement.
• EDGE teaching for Scouts BSA and older youth programs.
• Curated resources for participants and leaders.

The COSMIC Pin

The COSMIC Pin is an advanced, long-term STEM journey. The planned Bronze Pin is for Bears, Webelos, and Arrow of Light Scouts. The planned Gold Pin is for Scouts BSA members, Venturers, Sea Scouts, and Explorers. Candidates will work with an approved COSMIC Mentor and complete sustained research, experimentation, presentation, teaching, and other advanced work.

Status: Coming Soon.

Back to COSMIC STEM Awards