Table of contents for May - June 2019 in Scouting

ADVENTURE IS A hallmark of every level of the Scouting program. But in Cub Scouting, the word takes on a special meaning. For each badge of rank, Cub Scouts must complete a series of adventures, which are collections of themed multidisciplinary activities on specific topics. HOW MANY ADVENTURES ARE REQUIRED FOR EACH RANK? For Lion, five required adventures. For Tiger, Wolf and Bear, six required adventures and one elective. For Webelos, five required adventures and one elective. For Arrow of Light, four required adventures and one elective. HOW LONG SHOULD AN ADVENTURE TAKE TO COMPLETE? About two den meetings. DO ADVENTURES HAVE TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER? No. Also, Cub Scouts may work on required and elective adventures at the same time. CAN CUB SCOUTS “GO BACK” AND DO ADVENTURES…

GET SOME SLEEP Synthetic or down? Weight or warmth? The Gear Guy lays out what to consider when buying a sleeping bag. You can also read which bags are some of the best on the market in the May issue of Boys’ Life. KAYAKING THE GREAT LAKES Explore three Great Lakes with Detroit-area Scouts in the May issue of Boys’ Life. They kayaked around Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, camping on Grand Island, checking out waterfalls and the impressive Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and learning about the region’s 550 major shipwrecks. ROBOTICS ROCK STARS Troop 211 in Sartell, Minn., has mastered building complex and cool robots. Get some insight into how they use Scout skills, teamwork and leadership to become VEX Robotics champions in June’s BL. Boys’ Life magazine helps your Scouting…

VAL RODE TIGHTENED her swim goggles and jumped into Stillwater Lake at Camp Minsi in Pocono Summit, Pa. It was the last day of summer camp, and her goal was to swim a mile to complete the requirements for the Mile Swim BSA award. “It brought out the competitive side of me,” says Rode, an assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 1600, in Allentown, Pa. “I will not be shown up by the guys!” The mile swim award, featuring Poseidon’s steed, the seahorse stitched in red on a white background, is a coveted patch to display on your swimsuit or backpack. It marks the completion of one of Scouting’s most physical challenges, swimming nonstop for a mile, typically in over-the-head open water. (The mile swim can be done in a pool if…

If your Scouts camped, participated in a service project or earned a merit badge in 2018, their accomplishments are now part of the congressional record. Twelve delegates, representing all four BSA regions, delivered the 2018 Report to the Nation in March. In doing so, the group fulfilled a mandate in the Boy Scouts of America’s 1916 congressional charter that says we must share a record of Scouting’s accomplishments with Congress each year. What a year 2018 was. The BSA served 3.2 million youth participants and adult volunteers. Members recorded more than 14 million hours of service. And Cub Scout packs welcomed girls for the first time, with more than 77,000 joining in just the first six months. Rather than mailing a summary of this good news to Washington, councils nominate…

The Boy Scouts of America will offer a one-time limited exception to its age requirements for the Eagle Scout Award, giving new youth members, male and female, a fair chance to earn the program’s top honor. Traditionally, BSA rules say young people can no longer earn Eagle once they turn 18. But for 16- and 17-year-olds who are new to the BSA — even those who joined on the Feb. 1, 2019, launch day of Scouts BSA — there likely isn’t enough time to earn Eagle before their 18th birthday. By offering this one-time extension, the BSA’s volunteer-led National Executive Committee is saying everyone deserves a chance to work toward Eagle. Additionally, the BSA announced that, instead of recognizing a first female Eagle Scout, it will honor an inaugural class…

ANGIE WILLIAMSON REALLY, really likes Cub Scout day camp. The Mount Morris, Mich., volunteer likes it so much that she runs two separate camps every summer and also volunteers for a winter camp the Michigan Crossroads Council offers to Cub Scouts. Williamson likes day camp partly because it’s fun, but mostly because she has seen the impact it has on Cub Scouts. “My philosophy has always been that if you get a kid to come to camp, you get a kid to stay in the Scouting program,” she says. What can your pack do to ensure a great day camp experience? Read on for ideas from Williamson and other Michigan Scouters. Before Camp The first step is choosing the right camp to attend, which might not be the one in…

It was their son’s experience with Scouting that turned Todd and Susan Johnson into supporters of the Boy Scouts of America. Todd was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout growing up, but his son Matthew’s trail to Eagle made the biggest impression. “We didn’t start out planning for our son to become an Eagle Scout,” he says. “We just enjoyed the Scouting journey together. One year after another we kept following the program, and Matthew was able to keep rising through the ranks.” Their son’s journey showed Todd and Susan what an enormous impact the program has on developing youth. In fact, they describe Matthew’s experience at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., as having a positive impact on his life. “He was a boy who…

WE PROPOSE A TOAST to the s’more, that melty mashup of marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker. At Theodore Naish Scout Reservation’s Bear Camp, the act of roasting marshmallows over a campfire helps thirdgraders feel more comfortable during what is, for many, their first time spending the night at a real Scout camp. Throughout June and July, Bears and their accompanying adults stay at Cub World for two days and one night of fun. You’ll find Camp Naish on 900 acres about 30 minutes west of Kansas City. Cub World, on the north end of camp, offers a castle made of stone, a simulated mine, ranges for BB guns and archery, a nature area, and a pirate-themed water park. During their time at Bear Camp, boys and girls bounce from area to…

Being an active member of the U.S. armed forces is a tremendous honor and a tremendous sacrifice. Members of the military spend a significant amount of time away from home, often separated from their spouses and children for months or years at a time. To recognize these sacrifices, the Patriots’ Path Council has established Camp Noble Cause. Operating out of Winnebago Scout Reservation in Rockaway, N.J., Camp Noble Cause is a free camping weekend for families who sacrifice so much every day. Bob Newbery, founder and chairman of Camp Noble Cause, came up with the idea more than a decade ago, and the Patriots’ Path Council jumped on board quickly after that. “It’s a way to say ‘thank you’ to the military spouses and children,” Newbery says. “Their sacrifices generally…

It all started with a handshake by the campfire. On a summer evening in 1919, C.L. Emerson met with C.J. Carlson along the banks of Strawberry Creek in the San Jacinto Mountains, about three hours east of Los Angeles. Emerson, a real estate developer, told Carlson, president of what was then the BSA’s Riverside Council, that he’d be donating the land they were standing on to the Scouts. Carlson was thrilled. Emerson simply said he wanted to do his part to help young people escape civilization and spend more time in the mountains. As legend has it, Emerson’s gesture was greeted with “whoops, hollers, whistles and cheers” from the Scouts enjoying a campfire program nearby. The Emerson-Carlson handshake, back then as good as a written contract, led to what was…

RICKIE ALLEN GREW UP hunting and fishing with his grandfather around Asheville, N.C., but he didn’t think about trying Scouting until a friend joined a local pack. He joined, as well, experiencing the adventures and life lessons that Scouting offers. During his 24-year Army career, Allen supported Scouting when he could, but he really jumped back in when he was stationed in South Korea. There, his son, Rickie II, saw a father and son in Scout uniforms, and said he was interested in joining. Allen quickly became an assistant Scoutmaster with his son’s new unit, Troop 81 at Camp Walker. He then served as a committee member with Troop 777 in Bel Air, Md., where he was also an active board member of the Aberdeen Proving Ground STEM in Scouting…

The Dilemma Like most teens, Alexandra has long been accustomed to how high school friendships can shift like sand dunes. But as she recently discovered, they can also disintegrate like a sandcastle under a wave. Here’s what happened: Alexandra and her prom date have been invited to a post-prom party by Michelle, whose dad is springing for a limousine. Ordinarily, Alexandra would jump at the invitation, but there’s one problem: Her friend Holly says they can no longer be friends if Alexandra goes to the party. Alexandra asks why, and Holly says Michelle has been verbally abusive toward her on the field hockey team. Holly tells Alexandra to stay silent, arguing that if her complaint gets back to the coach, Holly will lose her already-limited playing time. She doesn’t want…

SCOUTING AROUND THE WORLD What started in 1907 as a camp for British boys on Brownsea Island has exploded into a global movement dedicated to making the world a better place. Today, national Scout organizations in 169 countries are members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and about 60 more countries and territories have some form of Scouting. According to WOSM, only five countries don’t have Scouting programs: Andorra, China, Cuba, Laos and North Korea. All told, Scouting reaches more than 50 million people in WOSM member countries. Tens of thousands of Scouts and Scouters from around the globe will attend this summer’s World Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. But international Scouts and Scouters have been coming to America since the BSA’s earliest…

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