Browse by year
70 posts, oldest first.
Troop 86 from Sumter, SC wanted to do a pioneering project and they selected the Double A-Frame Monkey Bridge. Great place to start, and a great way to illustrate sequential programming . What skills enter into the picture? A whole bunch!
A tiger den joined my Pen Pals program and included code for a tiger emoji in their name. I thought that was quite creative so I went looking for other emojis that might be useful, or at least fun. Fleur-de-lis = ?
You’ve seen the 73-second cut . Now dive deeper with the 191-second version of our video that shows you how Pinewood Derby car kits get made. These wood blocks begin their journey as ponderosa pine logs at a sustainable lumber mill in Idaho.
Are you heading to the 2017 National Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve? If so, you’ll get a chance to experience some of the most extensive, engaging programming available in one location. The Summit Program Leadership Action Team, known affectionately as SPLAT, has devised a slate of programs in five distinct areas that will ensure…
We're back! The holidays and several business trips impacted my desire to update the blog regularly over the last few months (OK, it was the video games...the holidays always bring new video games releases and purchases...), but it's a new year and new scouting adventures are beginning, so expect more to come.
Jimmy Stewart had given acceptance speeches before — after winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, for example. But this one was different. This one was all about Scouting. In May 1980, inside a crowded ballroom in one of Los Angeles’ fanciest hotels, Stewart received the Los Angeles Area Council’s Distinguished Scouter Award.
Where will your next Scouting adventure take you? You’re limited only by your imagination — and, yes, your budget. Fundraisers conducted through your local Scout council, such as Scout popcorn sales, are a no-brainer. They’ve already been reviewed, meaning they follow all BSA rules and regulations.
A few fanatical fathers turn a Pinewood Derby race into an unhealthy obsession, forgetting the race is meant for Cub Scouts and not them. This completely fictional, in-no-way-based-in-reality story is the plot of Down and Derby , a 2005 comedy written and directed by Eric Hendershot.
The question is tantalizing for fans of Scouting and sports: Is there a correlation between the number of Eagle Scouts in a team’s home city and that team’s odds of winning the Super Bowl? The short answer? Yes, the team with more Eagle Scouts in its hometown is more likely to win the Super Bowl…
It seems like an ideal troop outing. A trip to a local ski area for a weekend of snow sports. The slopes are not too steep but still full of fun and challenge. They offer downhill and cross-country skiing trails, snowboarding runs, ice skating and tubing.
Planning to teach them Traffic Safety? School them in Scholarship? Impart your insight about Inventing? Before you serve as a merit badge counselor, ask yourself three questions: 1. Am I using the latest pamphlet and requirements? You’ve heard the warning that anything posted online is there forever, right?
The town of Dora, Alabama is filled with citizens who care for their community. From local fire station volunteers, to a driven city council, the townspeople are always finding ways to help improve the place they call home– which is why Dora city council members are working to re-establish an Exploring post.
We ended up drawing a kind of dividing line … … between adult and Scout responsibilities, and it has a lot to do with Scouts and money. In this podcast, in answer to a listener’s question, I’ll discuss how we decided who would be responsible for Scouts and money.
________________________________________ Last week (Issue 516) District Training Chair Chris Way asked if being Wood Badge-trained supersedes the need to also get Scoutmaster-Specific and IOLS (Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills) training. In Chris’s council, these two aren’t mandatory for Scoutmasters, and I offered that while it’s certainly true that this training isn’t mandatory, it’s certainly valuable.
Handing a Boy Scout a badge of office doesn’t automatically make him a good leader. He needs to be trained. He needs to take the Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops, or ILST. This training course is conducted in three modules — each 60 to 90 minutes.
Meet Keith, an Explorer from Post 725 of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Keith loves the city of Las Vegas; after all, it’s his home. So when he began to think about his future, he wanted to find a way to improve his community.
If you recruit new Boy Scouts into your troop without a plan for retaining your existing members, you’re just spinning your wheels. Help Boy Scouts get the most out of this life-changing organization with a program that keeps them coming back week after week.
For the Tiger Cub Scout adventure, Stories in Shapes, the boys use tangrams to make images. Read about a great resource to help with this requirement.
Story contributed by Kevin V. Hunt, a Scouting historian, author, camp director, blogger and speaker I have been to a hundred or more Eagle courts of honor in my day, but I’ve never seen a parade of flags at the entry of a ceremony until I arrived at one unique court of honor in Mesa…
As a new year brings in resolutions and goal setting for what people want to accomplish, there are a few things I’m asking the Deacons to focus on this year. It’s what I’m calling “Ways To Be” in 2017. BE PRESENT I’m asking the boys to get to know one another better this year.
It's the big Game Day. No, not the Super Bowl, the scout troop's Game Day. A day full of board games, card games, dice games, any games (except video games). The idea was to have a fun winter day activity when getting scouts out on a campout near the holidays tends to be more a…
We celebrate Feb. 8 as the birthday of the Boy Scouts of America. On that Tuesday in 1910, William D. Boyce (above) filed the official documents to incorporate this great organization. That much you probably know. But here’s something you might not: We actually know what time those documents were filed.
Take a little time to watch these two inspiring canoe videos, it’s worth it. “The Canoe” features footage of Algonquin Provincial Park where we go for our Venture Crew’s annual canoe trips. There’s a segment on building a birch bark canoe, so I just had to add the second film to this post.
Happy birthday, Boy Scouts of America! The nation’s top youth-serving organization was born Feb. 8, 1910. That’s the date William D. Boyce incorporated the BSA. (What time did that happen? Find out here .) Who else shares a birthday with the Boy Scouts of America?
Happy birthday, Boy Scouts of America! Today, February 8, 2017 marks the 107 th birthday of the Boy Scouts of America. As the nation’s top youth-serving organization, the BSA continues to educate on the principles of Scouting while creating value for thousands of people across the country.
When the results of a recent survey revealed that the staff of the Orange County Council in southern California felt largely satisfied with their jobs and were engaged in the council’s work to deliver Scouting programs to more than 20,000 youth members in the area, Scout Executive Jeff Herrmann was pleased.
Better troop meetings are a click away. Troop Leader Resources — available at troopleader.org — is a new, BSA-authorized website that helps Scouts and Scouters plan better meetings. With its videos of real Scouts in real troops, the site is a one-stop shop for new and experienced troop leaders.
Every Scout deserves a trained leader, but less than 50 percent of direct-contact leaders complete basic training for their position. Scouting U wants to change that. The BSA’s training team has set its 2017 goal: at least 50 percent of direct-contact leaders trained this year.
There was once a young scout, who was new to the troop, and off on one of his first great adventures. He was in the Eagle patrol, and looked up to the older scouts in the patrol. They were all of on a hike one day during a campout, and someone had brought along a…
A Scout is reverent, and some adult volunteers go above and beyond to help Scouts on their spiritual journey. The National Duty to God Award , first presented in 2016, recognizes adults who help young people better connect with their faith.
On a magazine assignment last summer, I joined Troop 7031 from Flagstaff, Ariz., on a canoe trip through Yellowstone National Park. (Shameless plug: Find my story in the May 2017 Boys’ Life and May-June 2017 Scouting !) The first day of paddling was the longest, and we arrived at camp exhausted.
If you’re a merit badge counselor, you’re probably pretty familiar with the role that merit badges play in the Boy Scout advancement system. Once they reach First Class, Scouts must earn a certain number of merit badges to continue advancing, with some drawn from the list of badges required for the rank of Eagle Scout…
Post updated to include clarification about driving to/from troop or crew meetings. The Boy Scouts of America’s updated transportation policy now requires all drivers to be at least 18 and have a valid driver’s license. Scouting youth under age 18 are not insured under the BSA’s commercial general liability policy and cannot be allowed to…
Please join us in congratulating Michael Hesbach, who will serve as Scout executive of the Pee Dee Area Council in Florence, South Carolina, effective March 1, 2017. Michael began his Scouting career as a district executive at the Heart of Virginia Council in Richmond, Virginia.
This should be fun! This week there’s no deep dive into policies, no procedural advice or philosophizing, just a conversation with two of my old Eagle Scouts who headed out for a hike last week. Bucky Kellorg and Wade Bastian join me from their “zero day” about fifty miles into a 2000 mile quest to…
It’s Pinewood Derby season and time to enter the annual Pinewood Derby Photo Contest! By sharing a snapshot of your favorite Derby moment, you’ll qualify for a chance to win a $100 gift card from ScoutStuff.org. “The Pinewood Derby is an iconic Cub Scouting activity.
In a lot of ways, the Blackmore family is like any Scouting family. They have too much to do and too little time. The dad, Brian, is an active-duty sergeant working long hours in the U.S. Army. His son, Jacob, is busy, too, with school, homework, church and chores.
________________________________________ Dear Andy, One of the participants in our Wood Badge course asked for some advice with a particularly challenging Scout. This young man’s parents are regularly in and out of jail; he’s largely cared for by his grandparents. Apparently prone to ADHD, his need is to be the center of attention; he instigates other Scouts…
Families have changed, and so have the ways we reach them. The 2017 NextConnect Marketing Summits will showcase the latest marketing and communications content, research, best practices, and how-to strategies and tactics for reaching moms, youth, and families with invitations to join Scouting.
As Kori L. walks the halls of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas, NV, she proudly carries the title of Exploring Commander. While she may only be 20 years old, the young dispatcher already has an impressive five years of law enforcement learning under her belt.
Looking for a time capsule questionnaire that's specific to Cub Scouts? You'll find it here. The boys can record details about their Cub Scouting career.
It is bad form to define a term or word by using the word or term. When we ask a Scout what is meant by being Trustworthy it is almost a cop out for the Scout to answer “One that is worthy of Trust” or some one worthy of being Trusted.
Rex Tillerson will be extremely busy traveling the world as secretary of state. But he’ll still take time to recognize his fellow Eagle Scouts. The U.S. Department of State, under the leadership of Distinguished Eagle Scout Tillerson, announced it will continue the department’s long-standing tradition of sending congratulatory letters to Eagle Scouts.
Jamboree is coming soon! Patch trading, zip lining, rock climbing, swimming and more. However, before everyone can enjoy their time at the Jamboree, they need to get there first. Transportation to the 2017 National Jamboree is designed to be as simple as possible.
I was asked today via email (Thanks for reaching out and wanting my opinion) to share my thoughts and opinion on the newest policy change in the BSA. That would be the Gender Identification policy and the fact that the Boy Scouts of America now open it’s membership to everyone regardless of sex or sexual…
It is that time of year when Cub Scout Packs are having their Blue & Gold banquets, and the old, senior Webelos are bridging from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts to become the young new guys. Every year I think they keep looking younger and smaller (as my own boys I see everyday get older and…
The release of a new square knot is always cause for celebration. But one square knot that combines five different awards? It’s party time. Square knots, which are primarily earned by adults, recognize an individual’s service and commitment to Scouting.
I remember when I was about six or seven years old and was first learning to ride a bicycle. I had training wheels on my two-wheeler for what seemed like forever. One day, I noticed that the training wheels weren’t touching the ground as I rode, so I asked my dad to take them off.
“Congratulations, Enoch. You are now the Patrol leader of the panther patrol.” These words filled me with pride and excitement. Any one of the members of my Patrol would consider this an honor. But I, in particular, had always taken Scouting very seriously.
The Silver Fawn Award, presented from 1971 to 1974, was the female version of the council-level Silver Beaver Award. It was discontinued in 1974 when both women and men became eligible to earn the Silver Beaver. In all, 2,455 women received the honor in the award’s three years of existence.
Betty Hess might just be the most dedicated volunteer the Five Rivers Council has ever seen. The 91-year-old has been actively serving Scouting in the Horseheads, N.Y.-based council for more than 60 years. She has received the Silver Beaver Award, which is the highest council-level honor a volunteer can receive.
If you’re a commissioner assigned to an LDS unit, this could be the most important 13 minutes of your week. LDS Commissioner Orientation, a new training module for commissioners who work with LDS units, is now online. In the free online training, LDS commissioners will learn about their role and responsibilities — all with the goal…
Boy Scouts of America volunteers play a critical role in helping to deliver Scouting programs that build character, leadership, and integrity in thousands of youth members across the country. Every Scouting volunteer – from a Cub Scout’s first den leader to the council representative reviewing a Scout at an Eagle Scout board of review – contributes to…
Are you a youth looking to make a big impact within the Venturing community? Do you want to further develop your leadership skills through amazing experiences and opportunities? If so, a position within the Venturing Officers’ Association (VOA) could be exactly what you’re looking for.
So astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets around a nearby star, huh? We’re officially one step closer to finding extraterrestrial life — or picking out the next planet for humans once we’re sick of this one. Or both. Either way, it’s likely Scouts will be involved.
Scouting volunteers are some of the busiest humans around. With all their different commitments, you’d think they’re time travelers. That explains the patrol name adopted by the adults in Troop 3 of Texarkana, Texas. They’re the Time Lords patrol. Any fan of the long-running TV series Doctor Who will approve of the name and the…
Sorry, Captain Kirk, but these days, Scouts and former Scouts are the ones who “boldly go where no man has gone before.” That’s why it’s fitting for the BSA to introduce a new merit badge : Exploration. The badge — the 137th on the BSA’s list of currently available merit badges — celebrates the spirit of adventure that…
The Academy Awards are days away, and they’re bringing pop culture and the future of Scouting to a timely intersection with Black History Month. The Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures tells the inspiring true story of three African-American women working as mathematicians and engineers for NASA in the 1960s.
Add up all the protected areas of the United States — national, state and local parks and more — and you get an area larger than France and Spain combined. In other words, there are a lot of American parks to explore.
Ryan from Pennsylvania Welcome to Scouts Then and Now , a Bryan on Scouting blog series. The premise is simple. I share two photos of the same Scout or Venturer: once in his or her early Scouting years (Cub Scout, younger Boy Scout, younger Venturer) and again in his or her later Scouting years (Life Scout…
New Merit Badge for Boy Scouts
You'll want to commemorate your son's Cub Scout Arrow of Light rank, and these beautiful Arrow of Light plaques are the perfect way to do that!
Congratulations to Jeff Isaac, who will serve as Scout executive of Pathway to Adventure Council in Chicago, Illinois, effective April 1, 2017. Jeff began his Scouting career as a district executive at Tukabatchee Area Council in Montgomery, Alabama, where he later became the field director.
As youth groups go, Scouting is extremely cost-effective. Where else can Scouts experience fun and adventure for such a reasonable cost? When I share the opportunity to become a Friend of Scouting, I often tell parents gathered at courts of honor and Blue & Gold Banquets that, dollar for dollar, Scouting is one of the least…
It was a time of idyllic Scouting scenes and uniforms somehow still crisp and clean after a full day of hiking. The Norman Rockwell era was so brilliantly depicted in the 51 original images he created for the official Boy Scouts annual calendar.
New discoveries are made every day, thanks to technological advancements and the keen curiosity of today’s explorers. To encourage future discoveries, the nation’s largest youth-serving organization is working to inspire the next generation of explorers by introducing the new Exploration Merit Badge.
________________________________________ Hi Andy, Our troop was having its regular weekly meeting and, while the other Scouts are busy with how to make a pizza in a Dutch oven, the Senior Patrol Leader and ASPL walked over to where we parents are sitting around yakking with one another.
There were 55,186 Eagle Scouts in 2016. That’s the fourth-largest Eagle Scout class ever — surpassed only by 2012, 2010 and 2013 — and represents a 1.5 percent increase over 2015. Just think about that for a sec: 55,186 Eagle Scouts. Each one has his own story of the challenging but rewarding journey to Scouting’s highest honor.
You’ve heard the saying: Good shoes take you to good places. So imagine the places more than 23,000 pairs of shoes will go when donated to people in need after the Dan Beard Council’s Soles4Souls shoe drive. This impressive Good Turn served as a way for the Ohio council to encourage partnerships between Scouts and…
Story contributed by Kevin V. Hunt, a Scouting historian, author, camp director, blogger and speaker About this time each year all over the country, an interesting phenomenon occurs as Pinewood Derby cars race down tracks again. It’s something that Cub Scouts live for and dream of for months before it happens.
