October’s suggested program theme is Science

(Note: Each month, Boys’ Life magazine picks a theme from the Program Features for Troops, Teams, and Crews series of books for readers to consider for their program.)

There’s an area of science for pretty much everything. Interested in the study of celestial bodies? Try astronomy. The study of rocks and minerals? Check out geology. What about fossils? Paleontology. Earthquakes? Seismology. Volcanoes? Volcanology. Fish? Ichthyology.

There’s a long list, but all sciences tend to focus on one area of the chemical, living or physical world.

• Chemistry deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed, the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine and change.

• Biology is the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover things like form, anatomy, physiology, behavior, origin and distribution.

• Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy and how they interact with each other.

Scouts whose troops choose the October suggested program theme, Science, can learn more about the different areas of science in the merit badge pamphlets Chemistry (No. 35868), Geology (No. 35828) and Energy (No. 619599).

Find complete program details in Program Features for Troops, Teams, and Crews: A Guide to Program Planning – Volume 1 (BSA Supply No. 616351, 1-800-323-0736, go.scoutlife.org/scoutstuff).