We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Archives for November 2022

Troop 1577 Hosts Chopped Cooking Competition

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Troop 1577 held a Cooking competition at Runnymede Park. The Scouts worked in teams of 2 or 3. They knew in advance that they needed to make a dish that included Oreos, pretzels and bananas. They planned a dish understanding that a mystery ingredients would be revealed. It was – bread! The Scouts came up with delicious desserts including crepes, dipped bananas and sundaes. Judges evaluated the dishes on a list of criteria that included how well the team worked together and how well they cleaned up. The Scouts were very focused and say they can’t wait to do it again! One Scout made a trophy from a cutting board where he is engraving the winners’ names.

Scouts Honor Veterans

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Each Veteran’s Day scouts from around the George Mason District place flags on Veteran’s graves at the National Memorial Park/King David Memorial Gardens in Falls Church, VA. This year the event drew over 300 people (Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Sea Scouts, Girl Scouts and Heritage Girls) who placed ~2,700 flags. Our thanks to Dignity Memorial for supporting this effort and proving food, drink and the flags.

2023 National Jamboree

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SPACE STILL AVAILABLE FOR YOUTH CONTINGENT MEMBERS!

2023 National Jamboree Registration is on-going!

Sign up today for the 2023 Jamboree scheduled for July 19-28, 2023.
Registration is open on the National website at https://jamboree.scouting.org. The National Capital Area Council is sending up to 10 contingent units to Jamboree. Adult registration to attend as part of the Council contingent is now closed.

The early-bird pricing has ended, but registration has not. NCAC cost for Jamboree is $2125 per person and includes the Jamboree, transportation to and from Summit, patches, and more! Camperships are available for youth participants. The campership application is available on NCAC’s website.

Youth must be at least 12 years of age to attend; participants age 18-21 will attend as youth for this Jamboree. Participants will be assigned to a contingent unit the end of 2022. There will be a mandatory overnight event scheduled at Camp Snyder in June 2023. Contingent units will also meet prior to departing for Jamboree; details will be distributed by selected Scoutmasters.

Check out this video (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i8AErWKYa0sSnG0g5dEyrkZgHzs44A3H/view?usp=sharing) to see what Jamboree has in store for you.

More information, including payment schedule, and campership applications are available on the Council’s website at http://ncacbsa.org/jamboree. If you have any questions, please reach out to Alex Keenan at ADLKeenan@gmail.com or Bob MacKichan at robert.mackichan@hklaw.com. We look forward to seeing you at Jamboree next year!

Productive Fall Work Weekends at Goshen

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This fall has been a productive one for Goshen Scout Reservation! We hosted two work weekends in October – one run by the Goshen Staff Alumni Association (GSAA) and one open to youth and adult volunteers.

The GSAA accomplished a number of projects, including:

  • Clearing a tremendous amount of brush at the Olmsted Chapel
  • Building new and resurfacing 17 picnic tables
  • Preparing the Marriott Administration building for an upcoming renovation project
  • Distributing previously built tent platforms and the aforementioned picnic tables to camps around the lake
  • Creating plans for chuck box construction in preparation for the Spring Weekend

The Volunteer Work Weekend projects included:

  • Repainting the Olmsted Shower House and Quartermaster/Trading Post facade
  • Replacing split rail fence at various program areas at Camp Olmsted, Camp Bowman, and Camp Marriott
  • Brush clearing throughout Camp Marriott OJ Corral
  • Counting and mapping all the buildings and shelters at Goshen to support the Goshen Admin staff with an updated inventory for insurance

Thank you to all the Scouting volunteers, alumni, and current camp staff who attended and for all their service to Goshen Scout Reservation! We hope to see them and others at future weekends.

 

Be sure to save the dates for the Spring Work Weekends:

  • GSAA Spring Service Weekend: April 28 – 30, 2023
    • Open to current and past Goshen camp staff, ages 18+. See old friends, meet alumni from across the decades, and work on camp projects.
  • Goshen Spring Volunteer Work Weekend: May 12 – 14, 2023 (tentative)
    • Open to youth and adult volunteers. Come down to Goshen for a weekend of service, camping, beautiful mountains, and fun!

Cub Scout Leader Training on Nov 19 – CANCELLED

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Akela’s Trail is a leadership training for Cub Scout leaders has been cancelled. It is a great way to learn the basics of Cub Scouting or take more advanced trainings to help the Pack and program grow. Akela’s Trail has something to offer everyone. Being held virtually in the comfort of your home on November 19, 2022 from 8:30am-Noon. Click the registration link for more information and the course descriptions.

Earning Silver Medals in STEM in Scouting

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I don’t think I ever truly knew what STEM really was until I discovered NOVA awards and did my first one. It was much more difficult than I expected, taking a lot of time, energy, and creativity. The more I worked on it, the more I learned and became interested in the world of STEM. Specifically I loved the aerospace and engineering parts of it, having watched several rocket launches for activities and building a fan powered car out of a gatorade bottle and some bottle caps. After completing four of these NOVA awards, I set my sights on the biggest challenge yet – the Supernova.

It took months to complete all of the requirements and challenges for this award, but even though at times I wanted to drop it all together, I pushed through. My favorite activities were the coding project I did, shadowing a heliophysicist, and teaching cub scouts how to make a fan powered car. Especially during the shadowing, I learned so much about what it’s like to work at NASA, and so much on recent projects and interesting things happening in the world of engineering right now.

When I finished my first Supernova award, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue and do another one. But with spare time on my hands, and a growing interest in STEM I began it. My favorite activities were creating the Electroscope for the nuclear science merit badge, running a meeting with different science experiments, and writing an essay on the history of nuclear power.

I think the Thomas Edison Supernova opened the door to my interest in nuclear sciences, beginning with the all day merit badge course which I really enjoyed – going in depth on atoms and fission which I found particularly interesting. While doing the essay on nuclear power I felt myself getting really intrigued with each piece of information I found, causing me to write out the 1,500 words in only an hour. Everything about it made me nervous, how such tiny things could explode cities and have so much power, but it also excited me to think that was possible.

After completing it I was really proud, but also very glad for all the opportunities it provided me with. I got to meet some fantastic people, and learn a lot about myself and the STEM world.

 

Sydney is pictured above (right) along with Lauren (left) who also earned the Edison Supernova, and Mr. Bruce Donlin (center), the Supernova Mentor for both scouts. As Sydney and Lauren display their Supernova medals, Mr. Donlin displays the Silver Pyramid, a STEM Award he was presented for creating a Council-wide, large scale, sustainable STEM event!