Scouting America Merit Badges
○ Mammal & Nature Study ○ Reptile & Amphibian Study ○ Bird Study ○ Sustainability ○ Veterinary Medicine ○ Fish & Wildlife Management ○ Soil & Water Conservation ○ Environmental Science
Scouting America Merit Badges
Learn about mammalogy, herpetology, natural history, environmental science, or sustainability, and fulfill merit badge requirements!
The Sustainable Safari Education Team partnered with Northern Star Scouting to give Scouts a unique opportunity to fulfill merit badge requirements aligned with animals and our natural world. Using the zoo’s distinctive resources, Scouts can expect to complete all or most of the following badges.
With alternating schedules, we offer these badges on select Saturdays each month at our Burnsville Conservation Center. Scouts can enjoy the zoo afterward with a complimentary medium feed cup.
By signing up through our classes page, you’ll get a one-of-a-kind, hands-on experience to earn each badge. Using presentations, interactive activities with our ambassador animals, and our knowledge, we want to help Scouts earn these badges!
Each badge has different requirements, and some of our initiatives won’t cover all of them. We’ll clarify these on the page where you sign up for each session.
Mammal & Nature Study
Nature weaves its way through everything, a common thread that connects us all. Ever meet a porcupine named Pokeman? How about a Tamandua named Pinocchio? These are just a few mammals that you could expect to see during the Mammal Study event at Sustainable Safari.
With this unique on-site experience, scouts can interact hands-on with the mammals they learn about while working toward completing their Mammal Merit Badge. Join us as we explore the intricate and fascinating classification of mammals.
Join us at Sustainable Safari as we explore those connections and the delicate balance that depends on our ability to understand and preserve our natural world. Work toward completing your Nature Merit Badge through hands-on experiences that highlight our role in preserving nature.
*Requirement three must be completed outside of this event*
*Requirement four must be completed outside of this event.*
Course Dates and Sign-Up:
Saturday, October 3, 2026
10:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Reptile and Amphibian Study
Some slither, some walk. Some swim and some hop. We explore them all with our carefully crafted Reptile and Amphibian Study event.
Meet some of Sustainable Safari’s unique reptiles and amphibians as you work toward completing your Reptile and Amphibian Merit Badge.
*Requirement 8 must be completed outside of this event.*
Course Dates and Sign-Up:
Saturday, October 10, 2026
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Veterinary Medicine Study
Explore the human-animal bond at our unique Veterinary Medicine Study event.
Using the zoo’s talented veterinary medicine staff and on-site veterinary clinic, you’ll get a hands-on, up-close, personalized experience as you work toward completing your Veterinary Medicine Merit Badge.
*Scouts can expect to complete the badge requirements in their entirety at this event*
Course Dates and Sign-Up:
Saturday, October 24, 2026
12:00 – 2:00 PM
Saturday, January 9, 2027
12:00 – 2:00 PM
Environmental Science Study
Get curious about the environment with Sustainable Safari’s Environmental Science Study event.
Take a deep dive into what it means to be an environmental scientist and look at the world through a lens of curiosity and observation.
*Requirements 2 and 6 must be completed outside of this event.*
Course Dates and Sign-Up:
Saturday, October 17, 2026
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Saturday, January 16, 2027
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Fish and Wildlife Management Study
Conservation is everyone’s responsibility.
Learn about the careers and management practices that help keep human impact minimal and our watersheds, wildlife, and environment healthy as you work toward completing your Fish and Wildlife Management Merit Badge.
*Requirement five must be completed outside of this event.*
Course Dates and Sign-Up:
Saturday, November 7, 2026
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Sustainability Study
From energy sources to water usage, sustainability is a complex and intricate concept.
Take a dive with us at Sustainable Safari into the many ways sustainability matters as you work toward completing your Sustainability Merit Badge.
*Requirement 8a must be completed outside of this event.*
Course Dates and Sign-Up:
Saturday, December 12, 2026
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Saturday, January 23, 2027
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Saturday, February 20, 2027
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Bird Study
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No… no… it is a bird.
Join us for a deep dive into the complex anatomy, behaviors, and diverse habitats of our feathery friends. Work towards the completion of your Bird Merit Badge with macaws, parakeets, and kookaburras only steps away.
*Requirements 5, 7, and 9 must be completed outside of this event.*
Course Dates and Sign-Up:
Soil and Water Conservation Study
We all have a duty to understand how conservation and the use of our world’s resources affect our daily lives.
Join us at Sustainable Safari as we break down the complex components of conservation and sustainability while working toward completing your Soil and Water Conservation Merit Badge.
*Requirement 7 must be completed outside of this event.*
Course Dates and Sign-Up: