It is a historic setting to meet merit badge requirements.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, 300 Gap Road, Strasburg, will hold on-site railroading merit badge workshops from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, April 26, May 17, June 21 and Aug. 23.

For more information or to register, go to http://www.rrmuseumpa.org and click on "Events" under the "Events & Programs" tab.

The workshops are for boys and girls ages 11 through 17 who are involved in Scouting, so they can learn by working with historic artifacts and model trains. Scouts who complete the program earn an official railroading merit badge.

"We are told (the railroading merit badge) is a specialized merit badge to offer, so I think that adds to the draw this museum has," said museum educator Jesse Shetrom. "It's just a cool venue for it."

Museum educator Juliette O'Connor said the on-site workshops regularly attract Scouts from as far away as New York. One family took a flight from Florida just to attend the workshop, then immediately boarded another for a trip back home, she said.

The workshops are made up of four activities, two in the morning and two more in the afternoon. Scouts are able to study G-scale model railroad demonstrations. G-scale is a track gauge for model railways that is large and durable so that it can be used outdoors. "That's one of the unique things we have here," Shetrom said. Attendees then study equipment at the museum. In the afternoon, Scouts spend time in a classroom and then study railway safety. Shetrom and O'Connor are both trained through Operation Lifesaver in order to be instructors of the safety program.

The museum also has a Solari board, or "clickety-clack sign," as O'Connor describes it. A Solari board lists arrivals and departures, showing numbers and letters on rotating flaps. The museum's Solari board no longer moves, but there is a virtual representation of a Solari board.

"We have unique ways that we can fulfill this merit badge," O'Connor said. "We do have a world-class collection here that the Scouts get to view behind-the-scenes equipment tours of."

Shetrom added, "We have all the freight cars and passenger cars kids need for the requirements. ... They can do everything in one day, and it's hands-on. They get to interact with all this history as opposed to it being described in a sterile classroom setting."

A unique Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania "Railroading Merit Badge" patch is an extra reward for participants who complete the workshop at the museum.

"It's a lot of fun, but we couldn't do it without our volunteers," Shetrom said.

Scouts must always be accompanied by an adult. There is a fee for the workshops, which are capped at 25 Scouts each and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

On-site and virtual railroading merit badge workshops for the remainder of the year will be scheduled and announced later. Virtual workshops are also popular; O'Connor said a Scout from South Korea participated.

 The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has a collection of about 100 historic locomotives and railroad cars, a vast research library and archives, a working restoration shop, an immersive education center and programs, a museum store and special events and exhibits.