STEM University - SIUC: Scouts BSA College 2026

Host sponsor: Southern Illinois University - Carbondale 

Event sponsors:  SIUC School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences

Who: Scouts BSA youth, parents, and Scout leaders
When: Saturday, February 28, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Note some classes may end earlier.)
Where: Southern Illinois University Carbondale (1263 Lincoln Dr, Carbondale, IL 62901)

 NO late registrations or walk-ins. 
Out of Council Scouts are welcome to enroll! 
If you have Cub Scouts, they can enroll HERE for the Cubs can Code Nova! 

Cost: 
$20-$25 per youth, depending on regsitration date.
$10 for adults.
Registration includes: Pizza lunch ticket, STEM U patch, Nova Cards, Digital Blue Cards, and most program materials. 
(Dietary lunch will be a salad and Italian dressing.)

Payment: Mastercard, VISA and Discover. Payments and registration will only be accepted online.

Registration Deadline: Sunday, February 22nd at 11:59pm or when capacity reached.  

Scouts will have several merit badges and Nova awards to choose from. Participants will take part in classrooms activities with leaders guiding Scouts through hands-on activities.

Exact schedule of events

• 8:00am Registration opens
• 8:30am Opening Ceremonies
• 8:45 - 11:55am - Morning session
• 12:00 - 12:45pm - Lunch Break
• 12:45 - 4:00pm.  Afternoon session

Please note, not all merit badge/nova sessions will go the full time period. 

Badge Classes being offered: (more to come, so check back or follow us Facebook for announcements!)

• Archaeology
• Astronomy
• Automotive Maintenance
• Aviation
• Chemistry
• Chess
• Disabilities Awareness
• Entrepreneurship 
• Fingerprinting
• Genealogy
• Geology
• Graphic Arts
• Inventing
• Mining in Society (*class held offsite)
• NOVA Designed to Crunch
• NOVA Hello World
• NOVA Shoot
• Nuclear Science
• Pottery
• Pulp and Papermaking
• Sculpture
• Space Exploration 
• Traffic Safety

Adult Trainings:
A free STEM Nova Counselor/Supernova Mentor Training is also being offered for adults and parents!  The training will take place on February 28th from 10:00am to 11:00am.  Please register as a free adult on this event to participate!

STEM University Rules and Regulations:

During the courses Scouts will be expected to:

• Be in uniform and prepared to learn.
• Have a watch or clock handy. Return after breaks in a timely fashion.
• Read over the merit badge pamphlet and work on the merit badge workbook prior to the class. You can find merit badge pamphlets at the Scout Shop or in your troop library. Worksheets can be found at: http://usscouts.org/mb/worksheets/list.asp
• Participate in the merit badge class. Simply attending is not enough to earn the badge. You need to participate.
• An adult parent or guardian needs to either be with their Scout or within ear/eye shot of the event to maintain youth protection guidelines.
• Scouts should, as much as possible, complete the prerequisites prior to the event. See attached document. That said, partials are sometimes needed. Scouts can reach out to instructors after the event to complete their badges.
• Make sure to enter a valid email when registering and check your email before the event. Some instructors may send out additional information prior to class.
• NO late registrations or walk-ins. If you need help registrering email Tera.Gunderman@scouting.org or Help@stlbsa.org
• Out of Council Scouts are welcome to enroll!

Stay Connected

Follow us on Facebook for updates and announcements: https://www.facebook.com/GSLACSTEM