NASA specialist on why she’s a Space Exploration merit badge counselor – Scouting Magazine

Foreground: Rachel Brachman, public engagement specialist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Background: Holden Crater on Mars. (Background photo via NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

For a full portrait of Rachel Brachmans passions and proficiencies, dont look at her LinkedIn. Start with her merit badge counselor registration.

Brachman, a public engagement specialist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, is a counselor for seven merit badges: Art, Astronomy, Canoeing, Disabilities Awareness, Horsemanship, Inventing and Space Exploration.

Each of these badges reflects a different aspect of my life, she says.

As a NASA specialist at the place where scientists built the Mars rover Curiosity and Saturn probe Cassini, Brachman is a natural to serve as a counselor for the Space Exploration merit badge.

Since Ive been working at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 17 years, Ive had a front-row seat during significant moments in space exploration history, she says. I love sharing what Ive learned about Saturn and Mars with Scouts who are earning their Space Exploration merit badge.

Brachman has been an active Scouting volunteer since her son became a Tiger in 2011 and a merit badge counselor since 2017. We asked Brachman for her top advice for merit badge counselors, which youll find below. She also shares a lovely free-verse poem about why she takes time to serve in this role. And finally, Brachman tells fellow volunteers about a NASA-sponsored essay contest no space-loving Scout will want to miss.

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Brachman was born in London, Ontario, and was a member of Girl Guides of Canada. She worked her way up through that program and became a Brownie, Guide and Pathfinder. She even earned the All Round Cord, a since-discontinued award that required girls to complete adventures and earn badges in subjects like astronomy, first aid and citizenship.

Brachman was active in science fairs throughout school and made it to the Canada-Wide Science Fair three times. In sixth grade, she won a silver medal at the fair for an invention that helped nonverbal children use a computer to communicate.

After high school, Brachman studied physics at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and earned a master of space studies degree at the International Space University in France.

She worked at the Canadian Space Agency, NASAs Ames Research Center, The Planetary Society and Caltech before landing a job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2003.

In 2011, Brachmans son joined Scouting as a Tiger. Brachman signed up, too, serving first as a volunteer in his Cub Scout pack and then in his Scouts BSA troop. Her current role is advancement chair for Troop 191 of Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Western Los Angeles County Council), where her son is a Life Scout working on his Eagle project.

As a Space Exploration merit badge counselor with the Western Los Angeles County Council, Brachman enjoys sharing her love of space with the Scouts who participate in WLACCs Virtual Merit Badge University.

Ive taught the online Space Exploration merit badge class 16 times since April 2020, with a dozen Scouts in each class from all across the United States, Brachman says. Im a strong believer in paying it forward. So many people have contributed to my education along the way, and its my job to make sure the next generation is inspired and educated, too.

With the Space Exploration merit badge, Brachman knows shes working with a head start. Based on its name alone, the merit badge is one of the coolest-sounding badges on the entire list of 137.

But any merit badge can be memorable and meaningful if delivered in the right way. You just need passion for the subject and a willingness to help Scouts experience something new.

Share what you know about your subject, and make sure Scouts have a chance to share what they know about the subject, too, Brachman says. Be a mentor and a role model for your Scouts. As with all Scouting activities, Be Prepared.

Brachman suggests using technology to help you a PowerPoint presentation, perhaps but warns against turning your merit badge into a lecture. Scouts will have a better experience if they get to interact with the counselor and their fellow Scouts.

Leave lots of time for Scouts to ask questions, Brachman says.

And what if youre planning to teach the Space Exploration merit badge but dont have a job at NASA? Dont sweat it.

NASA has some fantastic resources for teachers that can also be used by merit badge counselors, Brachman says. You can use primary sources photos, videos and lesson plans from NASA to show examples of past and present space missions. I like using NASAs Eyes on the Solar System software to show where all of NASAs spacecraft are at the moment and what theyre exploring.

Brachman shared this free-verse poem about her experience as a merit badge counselor, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Take a look:

Scout Merit BadgesToday I am teachingArt and Space Exploration.Tomorrow I willbe teaching two Inventing workshops.As a merit badgecounselor, my biography is spelled out in the badges I counsel.Art. Astronomy.Canoeing. Disabilities Awareness. Horsemanship. Inventing. Space Exploration.That sums up mylife pretty nicely.What I do and whatI love and what I care about.It summarizes thedifference I want to make in the world.Making it more beautiful.Learning and wonderingabout the universe.Going on adventureswhile getting stronger and staying healthy.Helping other people.Connecting withnature.Being creative andsolving problems.Making new discoveries.Not a bad life sofar.Im glad to be ableto share what I have learned so farWith Scouts whoare seeing it for the first timeAnd following theirown paths through life.

As part of her role at JPL, Brachman gets to run NASAs 2020-2021 Scientist for a Day essay contest for students in the fifth through 12th grade.

Brachman asked me to share the opportunity with blog readers, believing that the contest is especially appropriate for Scouts.

Scouting is all about adventure and exploration. NASA shares these goals, she says. Many astronauts started off in Scouting, because the life skills learned in Scouting also serve you well at NASA.

The contest, which runs through Feb. 12, 2021, asks participants to study three of Uranus moons, choose one and write about why that moon would be the best place to visit with a spacecraft someday.

NASA wants to know what you think, so dont just repeat facts you find online, Brachman says. Why do you think one moon would be more interesting to explore than another? What do you hope you might find if you explore this moon?

Learn more here and submit your essay here.

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NASA specialist on why she's a Space Exploration merit badge counselor - Scouting Magazine