We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Archives for September 2021

Back Country Outdoor Leader Skills

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This course is aimed at all adults working with older youth regardless of program (Scouts BSA, Sea Scouts, Venturing, or Exploring). This training IS NOT recommended for Cub Scout leaders. All participants must have completed Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills, as well as the position-specific training for their program area prior to attending this course and be able to meet physical requirements of the BSA Annual Health & Medical Record.

September course:
9/20, 7pm-8pm online
9/25, 9am-7pm @ Frederick MD

https://scoutingevent.com/082-50510

October course:
10/11, 7pm-8pm online
10/16, 9am-7pm @ Haymarket VA

https://scoutingevent.com/082-49968

For more information, contact Dominick Caridi at dscscouting@aol.com or 703-625-4196.

 

Hike the DC STEM Trek!

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The Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Trek is a hike around the Mall area of downtown Washington DC highlighting some of the STEM that was involved in the creation of Washington D.C., and showcasing the government agencies and private organizations involved in STEM that are located in Washington DC.

The Trek includes 24 stops; each has a question for you to answer (a cub scout level question, a Scout BSA level question and an on-site question).

For a glimpse of the questions: At stop #7, the Eisenhower National Presidential Memorial, we want to know how tall the Eisenhower figure in the left-most sculpture is? At stop #16,  the Octagon House, we want to know how many angles are formed by the main house outline?

There is an ‘abbreviated’ trek highlighted in the guide for those who prefer that. The shorter hike begins at the Smithsonian Metro station and ends at the Boy Scout Memorial, with a route of 4.75 miles. The longer trek is a 10.57-mile hike and routes through 24 stops from the Smithsonian Metro station to the USDA.

To see the STEM Trek Guide, visit www.ncacbsa.org/stem and expand the section titled ‘DC STEM Trek’. We hope to see you earn your patch!

 

The origin story of the Trek:
The STEM Trek concept originated from the NCAC STEM Committee, chaired by Dr. Arden Dougan, in 2019. STEM Committee member and Colonial District Supernova Mentor Mr. Tony Springer originally identified over a dozen Trek stops and presented this in a working session at University of Scouting 2020.

Girl Troop 1853 with the Albert Einstein Statue during one of their STEM Trek hikes!

From that original idea, Girls Troop 1853 of Springfield, Virginia adapted, enhanced and completed the development of the Trek! Special thanks to Reagan and Cordelia, who were the Senior Patrol Leaders during this development. Inputs were provided by Sarah, Kyra, Sadie, Paige, Sydney, Tessa, Evelynn, Lauren, Moksha, Sumi, Rowan, Aubrie, Reagan, and Cordelia. Input was also provided by Scouters Mrs. Foster, the Scoutmaster, and Mrs. Embry, Mrs. Kelley and Mr. Schulke.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not recognize Mr. Donlin, a truly unsung hero of the DC STEM Trek. Mr. Donlin took the initiative to rally GTroop 1853 to adopt the development of the Trek during covid. He dedicated countless hours mentoring the group in this endeavor and that does not even include the several miles of hiking/exploring to pilot the Trek! Over several months, Mr. Donlin led the group to complete the design, stops and questions for the DC STEM Trek that you see today.

We hope you enjoy the Trek, and learn about our Nation’s Capital and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics!

STEM Lab 314 in Powhatan

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Powhatan District welcomes a brand new STEM Scouts Lab this fall! This is the District’s first STEM Scouts Lab, and following in similar vein as several other NCAC Labs, the group picked a unit number with some mathematical significance: 314.

Lab 314 is led by wonderful leaders of Pack 159 who took the initiative to start this standalone STEM program. The first meeting was Lab Safety & Orientation, as is required for every STEM Scout year. Then, last week, the Lab met to begin its’ first activity module of the year – all about Wildlife Sciences.

The STEM Scouts received their individual activity kits, but they met in a classroom all wearing masks for the Lab meeting.

This first module is titled “Into the Wild” and is described as: Warm blood, cold blood, bones or no bones, these Scouts will go into the wild to discover the variety of animals that inhabit our planet. Scouts will first explore the biomes of this world and then determine which animal calls each biome home. From there, they will get their “gloves dirty” to experience the food chain in person by dissecting an owl pellet and investigate various bird adaptations. Scouts will get to see how long an alligator actually is, discover which amphibian is clear, and end by building an aquatic marine biome ecosystem, also known as a coral reef!

Up next, they’ll be exploring aerodynamics with a module called “A Flying Fluid”!

 

Leave No Trace Trainer courses this fall

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NCAC will be hosting three Leave No Trace Trainer courses this fall for scouts and scouters. These courses will be hybrid with an online session on Monday night and an in-person session on Saturday.

Purpose of this Course

Participants in the Trainer Course learn Leave No Trace skills and ethics as well as techniques for educating others about these low impact practices. Research has shown that this course significantly improves participant knowledge and understanding of how Leave No Trace protects the outdoor places we love. The goal of this course is to teach students taking the course how to introduce the concept of Outdoor Ethics in a fun and engaging way to a group with little experience in outdoor ethics. It should help youth and adults at all program levels understand the general principles behind Scouting’s outdoor ethics program. Graduates of a Trainer Course are prepared to lead Outdoor Ethics Orientation and BSA Leave No Trace 101 courses and to offer Leave No Trace Awareness Workshops to their community.

We recommend that youth complete this course before serving as in the troop Outdoor Ethics Guide position.

Who should attend?

This course will be of interest to any youth or registered Scouter who is associated with either implementing or training for any BSA outdoor program at any level. It is also well-suited for anyone who would like to pass on the knowledge of how to treat the outdoors and protect its beauty for others to enjoy. Youth must be at least 14 years old. Youth must be willing and able to conduct themselves appropriately for an adult training experience that is tightly scheduled and highly interactive.

Course Structure

This course will take place in three parts.

The first part of the course is offered using a combination of online self-study modules. This portion of the course will begin about 10 days before the final outdoor portion of the course. During this portion of the course, students will also prepare a 10–15-minute lesson which they will present to other students in their assigned patrol during the outdoor session of the course. This portion of the course will take approximately 6 hours to complete.

The second part of the course is a one-hour online Zoom meeting held the Monday before the Saturday outdoor portion of the course. At this meeting, students will accomplish two goals. They will review with an instructor how they plan to present their lesson on Saturday. This is also when meal planning for the Saturday session will be done.

The final part of the course is an all-day outdoor session on a Saturday. During this session, students will:

  • Present to their fellow patrol members the lessons they have prepared
  • Practice Leave No Trace cooking techniques
  • Learn about Leave No Trace activities and games
  • Learn how to use education to help others reduce their outdoor recreation impacts
  • Share ideas with other students and instructors
  • Learn about the resources available to help spread the message of Leave No Trace
  • Prepare an action plan for how you will use what they’ve learned

Note: Additional course details will be emailed to participants a few weeks prior to the course.

Scout Day at Nationals Park

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On August 15th, over 750 Scouts, Scouters, and family members joined the Washington Nationals for Scout Day. Besides the home team red, the stands were dotted with BSA tan, Cub Scout blue, Venturing green, and for the first time STEM Scout white. The STEM Scouts took center stage and field in their lab coats to conduct the flag ceremony and show thousands of fans a video about the BSA’s newest program. Other Packs and Troops used the occasion to conduct summer celebrations, recruitment activities, and even a Wood Badge beading ceremony.

Powhatan STEM Chair Michael Hanson received his Wood Badge beading in the stands at Nat’s Park during Scout Day.

 

Lab Managers Marcus Martin (9941) and Burt Wagner (991) are recognized for their successful Lab year during COVID and growing the Program Council-wide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest in STEM Scouts is growing in the National Capital Area Council with additional labs starting this fall. Please visit www.stemscouts.org or contact Trisha, NCAC Director of STEM and Exploring, at stem@ncacbsa.org to learn more about starting a lab in your area.

STEM Scouts Honor Guard made up of Marco Martin (9941, front left), Lizzie Hanson (9941, front right), Chris Hanson (9941, back left), and Andrew Wagner (991, back right).

Watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxWvbcXpBzs

STEM Scout Honor Guard setting up on the field at National’s Park

 

You’re Invited: NESA Networking Luncheon

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Submitted by: Brett Coffee and Conor Russo.

Did you know that NESA-DC hosts free networking luncheons for local Eagle Scouts on the second Thursday of most months? NESA-DC started these lunches to meet and connect with other Eagle Scouts, and hear from fellow Eagles who are doing something interesting, noteworthy, or even extraordinary.

NESA DC Eagle Scout Lunch with Astronaut Tom Jones

We’ve had astronauts, high ranking government officials, adventurers, people with careers you never knew existed, and people you never thought you’d meet.  The series was started by Merritt Green and for many years was hosted in Tysons Corner, VA.


Eagle Scout luncheons on Zoom have brought our speaker series showcasing the continuing contributions of Eagle Scouts to a broader community who can attend from across the country and globe.

When the pandemic hit, we decided to move our luncheons to Zoom.  We got a wider audience, and people didn’t have to suffer through DC traffic.  More importantly, it became much easier to get really interesting speakers.

While it might look easy, there’s a lot of preparation behind the scenes to pull off each lunch, which occurs monthly except for July, August, and December.

There’s no cost to join us for lunch, but you provide the lunch itself.  There’s the ability to network and interact with most speakers, but we do remind you that Scouts are courteous.

NESA DC Eagle Scout Lunch with Eagle Scout Tara Presnall

The lunches begin at 12:00 pm, and you can sign up here.  Conor Russo is our luncheon coordinator, and he does a great job lining up interesting speakers, moderating the discussion, and connecting the audience.

NESA DC Eagle Scout Lunch with Morgan Sullivan, Executive Managing Director, JLL

Although the lunches are free, please consider making a donation to Scouting at www.ncacbsa.org/give  to help support our luncheons as well as the great Scouting experience.  Who knows—you might be helping a future luncheon speaker write their story!

And if you or someone you know are interested in being a guest speaker at one of our lunches, or you have a suggestion or idea, please contact us at NESADC@NCACBSA.org.

For updates and registration on upcoming networking luncheons, follow us on Facebook, add us on LinkedIn, or check out our schedule on the National Capital Area Council’s Calendar of Events.