BUTLER TWP — When many people think of the Boy Scouts, they tend to picture boys in the woods trying to build campfires.

However, at the Technology Merit Badge Academy on Saturday at Butler County Community College, scouts took part in programs revolving around STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

“I like to call it tradition meets tomorrow,” said Ray Tennant, scout executive and CEO of the Moraine Trails Council.

More than 200 scouts from Butler, Allegheny, Lawrence, Armstrong, Clarion and Mercer counties, as well as Ohio, participated in the third annual event, which is run by the Moraine Trails Council and the Butler County Manufacturing Consortium.

The classes offered included architecture, aviation, electricity, electronics, chemistry, computers, fire safety, nuclear science, robotics and weather. Scouts received a merit badge at the end of the event.

Classes were taught by professionals who work in those industries.

The program started because of the increased emphasis on STEM education in schools. Tennant said of all the merit badges offered Saturday, only chemistry existed when he was in the scouts.

Neil Ashbaugh, acting chairman of the manufacturing consortium, said his goals for the program are to give scouts the option to learn a new field and find out if they like it or not, give them experience on a college campus and make them comfortable interacting with professionals.

“Prepare for life,” Ashbaugh said.

He said in the event's first year about 120 to 130 scouts participated. Since then, it has grown every year and scouts from other councils have participated.

Henry Sinopoli, president of the Moraine Trails Council, said events like this help keep scouting relevant.

“Change is inevitable. It's how you react to the change that makes an organization sustainable,” Sinopoli said.

John Relihan, 15, of West Sunbury and Collin Griffith, 14, of Harrisville, both with Boy Scout Troop 380, were participating in a robotics class. Griffith said they were programming their robot to shoot small balls.

“Kind of like a tank,” Griffith said.

Last year, John took an electricity class where he built a battery. He found the robotics class to be similarly interesting.

“Seems pretty fun,” John said.

Evan Cambest, 14, with Troop 195 of Hampton Township and Armon Smith, 12, of with Troop 81 of Grove City were taking the nuclear science class.

Armon said he was interested in pursuing a career in science and enjoys similar subjects.

“They are very interesting,” Armon said.

Evan said learning about different types of radiation was very informative.

“The more knowledge you have under your belt, the more you can do with your life,” Evan said.

Derek Scott, 16, with Troop 6 of Butler took the drafting class.

On Saturday, he was working on drafting a house of his own design on paper. He said he had an interest in going into drafting as a career path.

“I'm liking it,” Derek said.