Putting It All Together

Req 7 — Build Your AI Project

Practical Application. Do ONE of the following:

7a.

With your counselor’s approval, choose an artificial intelligence project based on your personal interest or a community need. Develop a plan outlining the project’s objectives, data requirements, and potential ethical considerations. Implement the project utilizing appropriate artificial intelligence tools, languages, or platforms. Share your project with your counselor. Discuss the steps you followed to create the project and your experience during the process.

7b.

With your counselor’s approval, design a short lesson plan on AI and teach it to your patrol or a group of Scouts. The lesson should include an AI-generated age-appropriate explanation of AI, examples of how AI is used in both everyday life as well as in the workplace, and an interactive demonstration of how Scouts could utilize AI to assist them with a school assignment, Scouting activity, or rank advancement. Share information on the development process and teaching experience with your counselor.

This is the capstone of your merit badge experience — the place where you take everything you have learned and create something real. You will choose one of two options: build an AI project (7A) or teach a lesson about AI (7B). Both are equally valid, and both require planning, execution, and reflection. Pick the one that excites you most.

A Scout spread out at a table with a project plan on paper, a laptop open to an AI tool, colored sticky notes, and a pencil. Planning phase of a hands-on AI project.

Option A: Build an AI Project

Getting Started

The most important step is choosing a project that genuinely interests you. The best projects solve a real problem or explore something you are curious about. Here are some ideas to spark your thinking:

Personal Interest Projects:

Train an image classifier to identify different bird species in your backyard using Google Teachable Machine
Build a chatbot that helps Scouts choose which merit badges to work on based on their interests
Use AI to analyze weather data and predict the best days for outdoor activities
Create an AI-generated art gallery based on different prompt styles
Build a music recommendation system based on mood or activity

Community Need Projects:

Train a model to sort recyclable materials by type from photos
Create an AI assistant that answers common questions about your local Scout council
Use AI to analyze trail conditions or park usage data for your community
Build a tool that helps non-English-speaking families navigate school announcements

Planning Your Project

Before you start building, create a plan. This is what your counselor will want to see, and it will keep you on track.

Project Plan Template

Your plan should cover each of these:

Objective: What does your project do? What problem does it solve? (1-2 sentences)
Target audience: Who will use this project?
AI tools/platforms: What AI tools, languages, or platforms will you use?
Data requirements: What data do you need? Where will it come from? How much do you need?
Ethical considerations: Could your project cause harm? Does it involve personal data? Could it be biased?
Timeline: How long will each step take? Set realistic deadlines.
Success criteria: How will you know if your project works?

Recommended Tools (No Coding Required)

You do not need to be a programmer to build an AI project. These free tools let you create real AI applications in your browser:

Google Teachable Machine Train image, sound, or pose recognition models in your browser. No coding needed — just use your webcam. Machine Learning for Kids Build AI projects using Scratch-like visual programming. Great for text classification, image recognition, and more. Microsoft Copilot A free AI assistant you can use to generate text, images, and code for your project.

Implementing and Presenting

As you build your project, document your process:

What tools did you choose and why?
What data did you collect or use?
What challenges did you encounter?
What ethical considerations came up?
What would you do differently next time?

When presenting to your counselor, show the working project and walk through these questions. Be honest about what worked and what did not — your counselor wants to see your thinking process, not a perfect product.

Option B: Teach an AI Lesson

Why Teaching Works

Teaching is one of the most powerful ways to prove you understand something. If you can explain AI clearly enough that a group of Scouts understands it, you truly know the material. This option also builds leadership skills that will serve you well beyond this merit badge.

A Scout standing at the front of a group of younger Scouts, gesturing toward a screen or poster showing AI concepts. The audience is engaged, some raising hands. Indoor meeting space.

Lesson Plan Requirements

Your lesson must include these four elements:

An AI-generated, age-appropriate explanation of AI — Use an AI tool to help you create a clear explanation of what AI is. Tailor the language to your audience’s age.
Examples of AI in everyday life and the workplace — You built this knowledge in Requirement 2. Now teach it to others.
An interactive demonstration — Show your audience how AI can help with a school assignment, Scouting activity, or rank advancement.
Development process reflection — Be ready to tell your counselor how you designed the lesson and what the teaching experience was like.

Planning Your Lesson

Lesson Plan Template

Include each of these in your plan:

Audience: Who are you teaching? What age group? How many people?
Duration: How long will your lesson be? (15-30 minutes is a good target)
Learning objectives: What should your audience know or be able to do after your lesson? (Pick 2-3 specific things)
Introduction (3-5 min): Hook their attention — ask a question, show a surprising example, or play a quick game
Core content (5-10 min): Explain what AI is and share your everyday life and workplace examples
Interactive demo (5-10 min): Live demonstration of an AI tool with audience participation
Wrap-up (2-3 min): Summarize key points and answer questions
Materials needed: What devices, apps, or supplies do you need?

Interactive Demonstration Ideas

The interactive demo is the highlight of your lesson. Here are ideas that work well with groups:

Live chatbot Q&A: Open ChatGPT or Google Gemini and let the Scouts suggest questions. Show how different prompts lead to different answers.
Teachable Machine group activity: Train an image classifier together using the webcam — have each Scout contribute training images.
“AI or Not?” game: Run the same game from Requirement 2d with your group. Show scenarios and have them vote.
Prompt engineering challenge: Give everyone the same task (“write a camping packing list”) and see who can write the best prompt. Compare results.
AI art creation: Use a free image generator to create merit badge-themed artwork based on audience suggestions.

For Both Options: Get Counselor Approval First

Whichever option you choose, you need your counselor’s approval before you start. Come to that conversation with a plan:

What you want to do
Why you chose this option
What tools or resources you will need
A rough timeline

Your counselor may suggest adjustments — that is normal and expected. Getting their input early will save you time and help you succeed.