Congratulations on the selection of your family member to attend this year's session of Badger Boys State! We do our best to provide a safe, fun and rewarding experience for all of the program's attendees. We have worked to provide a great deal of information on our website to help answer questions and provide a good overview of what you should expect. Please make sure you visit the orientation area of our web site - we strongly encourage the online orientation is also viewed by the future Boys State participant or you attend a live orientation together. This provides for a good understanding of what the program is about and helps provide for a venue for questions.
The When and Where
The Badger Boys State program runs from Saturday afternoon through the following Saturday noon. Please make every effort to provide for the full program in your schedule. The program is held on the campus of Ripon College. When you arrive you will check in at the Storzer Gymnasium and after a brief talk the new "citizen" of BBS will be directed to his "city" for the week and will begin to get acquainted with his counselors who will guide him through the program. After he gets settled in his room he will start meeting his city and the program starts shortly thereafter. The following Saturday you should pick him up around noon at the same location where you had dropped him off. Address for BBS check-in: Storzer Gymnasium, 550 Union St, Ripon, WI 54971-1655 For detailed driving directions please click here. A bus service is often available to some parts of the state for the 2012 session. Please check back in the Spring of 2012 for more information. Please note that these bus services are NOT affiliated with Badger Boys State but are organized by American Legion posts in the state. |
Scholarships
For information on scholarships available for those attending BBS, please visit the American Legion Department of Wisconsin website by clicking here.
Emergencies
If a family emergency should arise during the BBS session and you need to speak with someone with our program, please use the contact information found here.
Registration Card / Medical Consent
The sponsor or school should provide a registration card to the parent/guardian of the selected boy for completion. The registration card and online registration portions are both required and are very important. Online registration can not be performed until the registration card has been received - instructions will be on the card. After completing the online registration, the registration card must be filled out and signed by the parent/guardian. The completed card MUST be turned in on the first day of Badger Boys State during check-in. The required signatures provide permission for the boy to participate and also tells us any important medical information that might be needed during his week in Ripon. Please make sure the completed registration card is brought to Ripon by the boy as it is required for check-in and participation in Badger Boys State. |
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The ACT is often administered throughout the state on Saturday, the opening day of Badger Boys State. To accommodate those students taking the test, we have scheduled Badger Boys State registration to begin in the afternoon. For participants traveling significant distances to Ripon, we encourage you to consider taking the test on an earlier date or to schedule taking the test at Ripon High School. BBS can provide assistance to boys and their families chosing to take the ACT the morning BBS begins. For a $30 fee per boy the following can be provided: Dinner on Friday before the test. Sleeping arrangements on campus Friday night before the test, breakfast before the test, transportation to the test held in Ripon and lunch afterward. At that point the BBS session would begin. PLEASE NOTE: Arrangements must be made with our Portage office beforehand to hold a spot. Our office contact information can be found by clicking here. |
Closed Campus
Students coming to Badger Boys State will not be permitted to leave the campus area after registration except for emergency circumstances which are cleared by the program's director. Any cars that are driven to Badger Boys State by students will be parked in a sealed parking area immediately after registration. Car keys are to then be turned in to a counselor in the assigned area to be held until the end of the session the following Saturday. |
What To Bring
Please view our web orientation presentation on our orientation page for recommendations on what to bring and not bring to our program. Please note that if you are looking for a booklet called either "Student Manual" or "Tips on how to succeed at BBS" that it is no longer posted on this site. The materials in the informational and orientation sections of this site cover the same information as the past booklet did. Please review the information on the web orientation and orientation page. |
Thursday Night Inaugural Program
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Each year a special assembly is held on Thursday night to swear in the new Boys State Governor and other newly elected State Officers. Family and friends are welcome to attend this assembly to enjoy the successes of the newly elected officials and listen to Wisconsin leaders speak on that occasion. Boys State has had the pleasure of having our Wisconsin Governors and members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court attend and speak during these assemblies. The program begins at 7:30pm with music from the Boys State Band and the formal program begins at 7:45pm. For further details, please contact the Badger Boys State office at info@badgerboysstate.com. |
Address |
Storzer Gymnasium, 550 Union St, Ripon, WI 54971-1655 A bus service is available to some parts of the state for the 2012 session. Please check back in the Spring of 2012 for more information. Please note that the bus service is not provided by, nor associated with, Badger Boys State. |
Nearest Intersection |
Union Street & West Thorne Street |
Mapping Sites |
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From the Green Bay area:
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Take Hwy 41 south to Oshkosh. Exit Hwy 44 (South Park Rd.) and turn right (west). Follow 44 west 18 miles into Ripon. Continue on 44, now Oshkosh Ave., for approx. two miles to stoplight at intersection with Hwy 23. Continue straight through stoplight, (Oshkosh Ave. has now turned into Union St.) for six blocks. Storzer parking lot is on your right hand side. (Approximate Travel Time: 1 hr. 15 min) |
| From the Madison area: | Hwy 151 north towards Fond du Lac. Exit CTH MMM north to Waupun. Continue three miles into Waupun on MMM to fi rst stop sign at intersection with Hwy 49. Turn left or west on 49, and Ripon is 18 miles. Take fi rst left in Ripon on Griswold St. Go two blocks to stop sign and turn right on Watson St. Go three blocks Down Watson St. and turn left on Thorne St. Continue on Thorne until intersection with Union. Storzer can be seen across Union St. (Approximate Travel Time: 1 hr. 15 min) |
| From Milwaukee area: | Take Hwy 41 north to Fond du Lac. Exit Hwy 23 (Johnson St.) and turn left (west). Follow 23 for 18 miles into Ripon. Continue on 23, now Fond du Lac Ave., for approx. one mile to the fi rst stop sign. Left on Blackburn St. which curves right after 40 yards and turns into Thorne St. Take Thorne St. one mile, until it runs into Union. Storzer can be seen across Union St. (Approximate Travel Time: 1 hr. 40 min) |
| From EauClaire area: | Take Int 94 to Int 90/94. Continue on Int 90./94 to Hwy 82 in Mauston. Exit east or left on 82 and continue 20 miles to Int 51 where 82 ends and Hwy 23 begins. Continue on 23 east for 35 miles to Ripon. Stay on 23 for one mile in Ripon to second stop light. Turn right on Union St and proceed six blocks to Storzer on right hand side. (Approximate Travel Time: 3 hr. 20 min.) |
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