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 you and your boy to view the online orientation together or attend a live orientation. This provides for a good understanding of what the program is about and helps provide for a venue for questions.

Drop off

The Badger Boys State program runs from Saturday afternoon through the following Saturday at 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 Willmore Center. After a brief welcoming by a staff member, each 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 at Noon at the same location where you dropped him off.

Note: we do not encourage boys to drive to Boys State. Additionally, there is no advantage during the week if they do so. If they do opt to drive themselves, they will need to fill out a vehicle registration form and leave their keys with us when they check in.

Check-in begins at 1:30 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m.

Note: If your son is taking the ACT on check-in day, the check-in deadline of 4pm should allow for them to make it on time. If your son will be checking-in later than 4pm, please let us know ahead of time via our Contact Us page.

Address for check-in:
Willmore Center
550 Union St.
Ripon, WI 54971-1655

Picking up for Badger Boys State

One option is to pick up your student at the Willmore Center, and find a spot in the lot to park in (or if it is full there is a spot across the street).

The best option is to have the students cell phone number and touch base with him ahead of time because he will be able to tell you which dorm room he is in.  Most students prefer to keep their stuff in the lounge in their dorm and they additionally prefer to have the person pick up all of their stuff from their individual dorm. You will need to connect with the student to see what their plan and preference are.

Driving directions to Badger Boys State

Address:  Willmore Center, 550 Union St, Ripon, WI 54971-1655
Closest intersection: Union Street & West Thorne Street

Directions from the Green Bay Area

  1. Follow Highway 41 south to Oshkosh.
  2. Exit Route 44 west to Ripon.
  3. In Ripon, go straight at the first four-way stop that intersects Eureka Street.
  4. Proceed through the traffic light where Eureka turns into Blackburn Street.
  5. At the next traffic light that intersects highway 23, (Pizza Hut on left), go straight onto Union Street.
  6. Registration will be on your right, just before you would get to Thorne Street.

Approximate travel time: 200 minutes

Directions from the Madison Area

  1. Follow 151E toward Fond du Lac. Exit Highway 26N.
  2. In Waupun, turn onto Highway 49N through Brandon to Ripon.
  3. In Ripon, turn left at the first stop light onto Fond du Lac Street.
  4. In Ripon, 23 is Fond du Lac Street; take this to the stop light intersection with Blackburn Street.
  5. Turn left onto Newbury Street, which curves to the right and turns into Thorne Street.
  6. Go all the way down the hill on Thorne Street to the stop sign that crosses Union Street. Turn Right and enter parking lot on your immediate left.

Approximate travel time: 75 minutes

Directions from the Milwaukee Area

  1. Follow I94N to Milwaukee. Follow 894 (bypass) around Milwaukee to Route 41/45.
  2. Follow 41N to Fond du Lac.
  3. Exit Route 23W (Johnson Street) to Ripon.
  4. In Ripon, 23 is Fond du Lac Street; take this to the stop light intersection with Blackburn Street.
  5. Turn left onto Newbury Street, which curves to the right and turns into Thorne Street.
  6. Go all the way down the hill on Thorne Street to the stop sign that crosses Union Street. Turn Right and enter parking lot on your immediate left.

Approximate travel time: 75 minutes

Directions from the Eau Claire Area

  1. Follow I-94E. In Mauston, exit Route 82E, which turns into Route 23E at the junction with Route 51.
  2. Follow Route 23E to Ripon.
  3. In Ripon, turn right at the second set of traffic lights (Family Video and Pizza Hut are on opposite corners) onto Union Street. Proceed south on Union and continue south.
  4. Registration will be on your right, just before you would get to Thorne Street.

Approximate travel time: 100 minutes

Download PDF version

Scholarships for Badger Boys State

For information on scholarships available for those attending BBS, please visit The American Legion Department of Wisconsin website.

Emergencies while at Badger Boys State

If a family emergency should arise during the BBS session and you need to speak with someone from our program, please call our emergency phone number.

Registration Card and 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.

Closed Campus Policy at Badger Boys State

Students coming to Badger Boys State will not be permitted to leave the campus area after registration except for emergency circumstances cleared by the program’s director. Any cars driven to Badger Boys State by students will be parked in a sealed parking area immediately after registration. Car keys are to then be given to a counselor to be held until the end of the session the following Saturday.

What to Bring to Badger Boys State

If you are looking for a booklet called either “Student Manual” or “Tips on how to succeed at BBS,” those are no longer posted on the website. The materials in the informational and orientation sections of the website cover the same information as the past booklet did. Please review the information on the web orientation and live orientation pages.

Badger Boys State Checklist ( .pdf )

Thursday Night Inaugural Program

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 (note: due to space constraints, we limit this to two guests per boy). Boys State has had the pleasure of having the Wisconsin governors and members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court attend and speak during these assemblies. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. with music from the Boys State Band. The formal program begins at 7:45 p.m. For further details, please contact the Badger Boys State office at info@badgerboysstate.com

Food Menu

If you are interested in what meals are offered during the next upcoming session, our meal plan can be found here (meals are subject to change week of with accordance to the campus chef) :

2018 Meal Schedule ( .pdf )

Bus Schedule

If you are not able to drive your son or participant to the upcoming session of Badger Boys State, we additionally offer multiple Bus Stop locations :

2019 Bus Schedule ( .pdf )

Store

At Badger Boys State, we sell merchandise periodically throughout the week.  The following .pdf below holds a list of those prices  :

2018 Badger Boys State Merchandise ( .pdf )

Transportation Policy

If your son or participant will be driving himself or friend to the upcoming session, he will need to provide the following documentation at registration  :

2018 Badger Boys State Transporatation Policy ( .pdf )

Athletics Events and Extracurriculars

At Badger Boys State, your son will have the optional choice to participate in any of the following extracurricular events:

  • Basketball
  • Dodgeball
  • Soccer
  • Ultimate Frisbee
  • Bean Bag Toss
  • Volleyball
  • Euchre
  • Tennis Tournament
  • Cross Country Race
  • Talent competition: Badger Boys Got Talent