The Bloggers
Scouting magazine's blog for adult leaders, now On Scouting.
Showing 1–50 of 3,467 · page 1 of 70. Each title opens the post in a new tab.
This story is shared here from the Scouting magazine app. For more of the content you’re used to from Scouting magazine , download the Scouting magazine app today! It’s available now in the App Store and Google Play . It’s good to think big when it comes to New Year’s resolutions: save money, lose weight, read more…
Foreground: Rachel Brachman, public engagement specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Background: Holden Crater on Mars. (Background photo via NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) For a full portrait of Rachel Brachman’s passions and proficiencies, don’t look at her LinkedIn. Start with her merit badge counselor registration.
Zoe Nash and her family have spent far too many Christmases at Children’s Hospital Colorado where Zoe’s little sister, Simone, received treatment for a weakened immune system, asthma and seizures. Thankfully, Simone is healthy and strong now. But Zoe will never forget what it was like to watch her brave sister spend birthdays and Christmases…
Cameron Welch and his son, Zane, a 12-year-old Tenderfoot Scout with Troop 772 of The Woodlands, Texas, were heading home from a troop meeting on an evening in October. On a dark stretch of road near their neighborhood, they spotted a man walking in the ditch.
When things seem dark, Scouts create their own light. With its twice-yearly barbecue chicken fundraiser put on ice during the pandemic, Troop 758 of the Baltimore Area Council dreamed up a brilliant way to raise funds while bringing some much-needed joy to its community.
National Football League photo Eagle Scout Kevin Greene, whose 15-year career as a physically gifted and mentally tough NFL linebacker landed him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died on Dec. 21 at his home in Florida.
The iPhone 5s, with its 4-inch screen and maximum 64 GB of storage, was Apple’s latest and greatest way back in 2013 when Justine Cole was 11 years old. Iron Man 3 was the year’s top-grossing movie. Justine is 18 now, and a lot has changed in those seven years.
A Scout from Troop 215 of the Great Trail Council views Norman Rockwell paintings at the Medici Museum of Art. (Photo courtesy of Medici Museum of Art) From his ode to heroic volunteers in “The Scoutmaster” to his slice-of-life depiction of a lakeside Scout camp in “Come and Get It,” Norman Rockwell spent decades capturing…
Courtesy of William Marshall This story is shared here from the Scouting magazine app. For more of the content you’re used to from Scouting magazine , download the Scouting magazine app today! It’s available now in the App Store and Google Play .
Courtesy of William Marshall This story is shared here from the Scouting magazine app. For more of the content you’re used to from Scouting magazine , download the Scouting magazine app today! It’s available now in the App Store and Google Play .
The Scouting trail has continued uninterrupted for 110 years, enduring along the undulating contours of American history. Through it all, Scouts have shown ingenuity, tenacity and selflessness. They’ve helped their communities navigate world wars, crippling recessions, natural disasters and global pandemics.
It’s Pinewood Derby season! This year’s favorite Cub Scout event will look different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve shared how to host a virtual or socially distant event here . To help you make sure everyone can prepare for your pack or den’s big day, Champ Camp workshops will be online.
Imagine being there in the early 1930s when James E. West, E. Urner Goodman and other BSA founders were planning the first National Jamboree. That first national Scouting event — originally scheduled for 1935 but delayed to 1937 because of the polio outbreak — ignited a tradition that has taken this quadrennial celebration from the National Mall…
Six years ago, the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District in Wisconsin bought a 1967 Ford Mustang. It didn’t run; the windshield was smashed; the undercarriage was covered in rust — it was a major restoration project. But it would be a perfect project for high school students, teaching them mechanical and automotive skills.
This is the 33rd in an occasional series where I share Eagle Scout project before-and-after photos. See the complete collection here and submit your own here . COVID-19 note: Most of these Eagle projects were completed before the pandemic, meaning the photos may not necessarily depict coronavirus-related health and safety protocols .
Courtesy of TIME, used with permission There aren’t many 15-year-olds who make it on the cover of Time magazine, have their own Wikipedia page and get interviewed by global superstar Angelina Jolie. Then again, there aren’t many 15-year-olds like Gitanjali Rao.
When Assistant Scoutmaster Andy Leuschen arrived at Camp Mitigwa , tears welled in his eyes. Just a few weeks prior, Troop 188 of Ankeny, Iowa, had camped at one of the camp’s sites. This was where the Scouts agreed 2020 proved to be the best year of summer camp they had ever experienced, thanks to the…
Wendy Ingham knows how much her son loves Jeopardy! The only time Patrick misses an episode is on nights when Troop 18 of West Grove, Pa. (Chester County Council), has a meeting. Patrick is a Geography Bee champion, history buff and, in fourth grade, was voted by his classmates as “Most Likely to Compete on…
fizkes/Getty Images Whenever a Cub Scout meeting reaches what we like to call “maximum fidget,” seasoned leaders know it’s time for a game, song or cheer. As we enter day 15,000 of the pandemic, you’re no doubt looking for new games that might enliven your next virtual Cub Scout den or pack meeting.
It started in a grocery store. In 2018, Gabrielle Thorsen and her family were walking through the aisles when Gabrielle spotted a girl wearing a blue Cub Scout shirt. “We stopped her family and asked them about her uniform,” Gabrielle says.
Last year, after the Illinois state president of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary issued a call for toiletries and other items for active troops overseas, Cub Scouts with Pack 3930 of Bloomington, Ill., stepped up. “The items that we take for granted were not in available supply to our brave men and women thousands…
Decorating Christmas trees can do more than raise spirits. It can raise money, too. For the Wonderland of Trees event last month, the Summit Bechtel Reserve decked its halls, showed off its breathtaking views and helped the United Way of Southern West Virginia rebound during a difficult year.
The Ehr brothers, from left: Matthew, Dan, Robert, Gerald and Benjamin. Scouting teaches you new skills. It takes you outside your comfort zone. It helps you trust yourself — and others. It builds perseverance. And it’s a ton of fun. Ask five Eagle Scouts why this country still needs the values-packed programs of the BSA, and…
Daniel Pate will always remember the date he completed his board of review and officially became an Eagle Scout. It was Tuesday, Sept. 8, 1998 — the same day Mark McGwire hit his 62nd home run of the season, breaking the single-season record.
One of the most important things you can do to stay healthy during a pandemic is to wash your hands on a regular basis. But what if you don’t have reliable access to clean, running water? That was a problem for some elderly members of the Navajo and Hopi communities near Glendale.
lambada/Getty Images You won’t find this adjective in the Scout Law, but it might as well be sculpted in stone, painted on a wall or embroidered in the finest thread. A Scout is creative . Yes, this means Scouts find unique ways to solve problems, serve others and explore the outdoors.
Troop 2019’s soon-to-be Eagle Scouts, from left: Lindsay Parker, Kenzie Neal, Taylor Bell and Morgan Phillips. Morgan Phillips was a shy 14-year-old when she attended her first Venturing meeting. She left that meeting unconvinced that Scouting was for her. But her dad encouraged her to keep at it, providing that gentle nudge all teenagers eventually…
A lot of things have been cancelled, pared down and changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but your pack’s Pinewood Derby season can totally still happen. There are a couple of ways to make this favorite Cub Scout event happen.
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Some of the most indelible non-Scouting memories from my childhood are of watching Jeopardy! with my parents. This wasn’t entertainment; it was competition. After school, we’d fire up the VCR to watch the latest episode as a family.
Many Scouting units have leaders who have volunteered for decades. Few though have erected a monument in honor of their leaders’ years of service. Last month, past members of Troop 584 of Olney, Texas, met at a new park and monument in town.
Bridget Schlossberg won’t let anything — not even a worldwide pandemic — stop her from fulfilling the Scout Slogan’s charge to “Do a Good Turn Daily.” The 11-year-old, who goes by the nickname Gidget, has been helping her best friend’s brother cope with the stresses of the pandemic in a genuinely generous way.
Scouts have been working to conserve our planet since the organization’s inception. Now, they can be honored for their work through the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Awards program. Scouts BSA members, Sea Scouts and Venturers can earn the youth version of these new prestigious awards while adult leaders and other organizations and individuals can be…
This is the 32nd in an occasional series where I share Eagle Scout project before-and-after photos. See the complete collection here and submit your own here . COVID-19 note: Most of these Eagle projects were completed before the pandemic, meaning the photos may not necessarily depict coronavirus-related health and safety protocols.
Members of Crew 151 volunteer at Alexandra Santiago’s Eagle Scout project. Alex and her volunteers built an outdoor food pantry, which Crew 151 will keep stocked with food for families struggling with hunger. At the nonprofit Camp Carefree in North Carolina, children with chronic illnesses like cancer, epilepsy and spina bifida are given a free…
As Yvonne Lindquist designed her son’s retirement gift — a quilt featuring squares of meaningful moments in his life — one organization quickly came to mind: the Boy Scouts of America. Col. Robert Bertrand of Carlisle, Pa., retired this past summer after nearly 30 years in the U.S.
Riley DuPuy, a Troop 308 Eagle Scout, appeared via Zoom to share photos and stories from a trip with his wife to Glacier National Park where they rescued a fellow hiker. At long last, a cure for Zoom fatigue. A troop in Texas now ends each virtual meeting with a special guest: a troop alumnus…
Food, family and fellowship are Thanksgiving traditions. If you’re a Scouting family, enjoying the Great Outdoors is already something you appreciate. Adding a little outdoor adventure to your Thanksgiving this year will make it memorable, a lot of fun and could start a new tradition for your family: Campsgiving.
When he started brainstorming Eagle Scout service project ideas, Ryan Kelley got a lot of advice. He heard from friends, family members, Scout leaders — each with suggestions for how Ryan could make a lasting impact on the community of Old Town, Maine.
Micaiah Balonek, who lives most of the year in India, wears a Hindi interpreter strip. Alejandra Opdyke wears an “Español” strip because she wants Spanish-speaking parents of prospective Scouts to know “that somebody might help them in their language.” Mike Anderson’s “Deutsch” strip, earned as a Scout five decades ago, caught the attention of an…
Five letters can say a whole lot. By simply calling someone a “Scout,” you’re saying that person has strong moral character, is confident in the outdoors and has experience leading a team. In fact, the Scouting name is so synonymous with positive attributes that master storyteller Stephen King included BSA references in more than half…
This Election Day, make your voice heard: Encourage your Scouts BSA troop, Venturing crew or Sea Scout ship to try ranked-choice voting. When you switch to ranked-choice voting in the next election for senior patrol leader, Venturing crew president or Sea Scout ship boatswain, you’ll get the most-preferred candidate in the least time, teach young…
It’s 2499, and humanity is locked in an epic battle for survival against an alien race. They have a secret weapon that your youth can construct to save the day: Snap Ships . Scott Pease and Jeff Swenty created the toy-building system after years of designing video games.
In October, Nethra Srinivasan, a Health Care Explorer, received a 2020 Community Heroes Award from Assemblymember Kansen Chu at a socially distanced ceremony held outdoors. If you’ve watched the national nightly news during the pandemic, you’re familiar with the formula.
The COVID-19 pandemic closed Philmont Scout Ranch this past summer, but the high-adventure base is ready for its biggest season in 2021 with new construction of trail camps, trails, staffed program areas and other infrastructure, which will allow Philmont to enhance its already mitigated environmental impact practices to an even higher level.
Skateboarding, whitewater rafting, shooting sports, rock climbing — you can do it all at the Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. Scouts can select world-class action sports or take a trek in and around the majestic New River Gorge National River.
Nearly 100 years ago, Scouts made their first treks into the wilderness on the Minnesota-Canada border. You can register for special Northern Tier High Adventure treks in 2022, celebrating the Minnesota base’s 100th anniversary . Canoeing and fishing is a major part of the Northern Tier National High Adventure program during the summer, while Scouts can…
Ahoy! Adventures await at the Sea Base . Sea Base, stationed in the Florida Keys, operates 19 different programs in the Bahamas, Dry Tortugas, Florida Keys and U.S. Virgin Islands. Scouts can choose to camp, paddle, sail, scuba-dive or participate in multi-adventure or a STEM adventure.
The BSA’s Outdoor Adventures team is gearing up to welcome Scouts and Scouters to high-adventure bases for the 2021-2022 seasons. To help you manage registering for these life-changing experiences, you can log on to a new Find Your Adventure info portal .
Distinguished Eagle Scout Mike Huneke spent two weeks in Wyoming in late September and early October 2020 fighting the Mullen Fire. Photo by Cole Sanspree Sometimes the Philmont belt buckle makes it obvious. Other times, Mike Huneke casually brings up Scouting in conversation only to hear someone say, “I’m an Eagle Scout, too.”
Liberty Bell doorknob hangers from 1952. In 1952, an army of Scouts — all too young to vote themselves — launched an unprecedented campaign to get out the vote. They added crepe-paper streamers and homemade “Vote” signs to their bicycles. They went block by block delivering 30 million Liberty Bell-shaped doorknob hangers that read “Today’s Youth Counts…
