We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Articles

Troop 3228 Conducts Flag Ceremony at the 2023 National Jamboree

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The Scouts of Troop 3228 under the guidance of Scoutmaster Troy O’Donnell conducted a reverent and solemn flag ceremony on day four of the National Jamboree. The Scouts first lowered the flags of the visiting foreign Scout Associations, and then retired the flags of the Summit Reservation, the State of West Virginia, and the Flag of the United States. The Jamboree coordinator commended the Scouts on their service, saying that they conducted the best ceremony by far.

#myNCAC #nationaljamboree #NatJamboree23

 

NCAC Scouts Featured in The Washington Post

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NCAC Scouts are featured on the front page of The Washington Post Style section today in an article about the 2023 National Jamboree and how Scouting benefits girls. The writer, Anne Branigin, followed Audrey Perez, daughter of NCAC Scout Executive Mario Perez, Mia Strouder, and Lucy Hurd as they “flew down zip lines, played one-armed volleyball, shot laser guns, ate pizza and posed with Regis, a 17-year-old bald eagle with a busted wing” among a whole lot of other experiences!

Noting that the past three years had been a downer for all of the girls, the article explains, “Scouting, a 113-year-old rite of passage for generations of American boys, helped save the girls from total boredom and staved off loneliness in the pandemic years. They know the myriad opportunities being a Scout affords them, benefits adults extolled all the time: the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout; a network they can lean on; an edge during the competitive college application process; life and leadership skills.”

Read the full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/10/girlhood-boy-scouts-jamboree/

The BSA has licensed the recent Washington Post article about Scouting, and a copy of the article is available in the BSA Brand Center for download and additional use. Download the article from the BSA Brand Center here: https://scouting.webdamdb.com/bp/#/folder/4731610/152075105

Save the Dates: Goshen 2024

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Save the dates for Goshen Scout Reservation Summer 2024!

We will be offering five weeks of summer camp at all three Scouts BSA resident camps – Camp Bowman, Camp Marriott, and Camp Olmsted, including the Provisional Camp program at Camp Marriott for individual campers.

Camp Ross for Webelos and Arrow of Light Cub Scouts will be running for six weeks.

Lenhok’sin High Adventure will be offering five weeks of its backpacking program and river trekking program.

Week 1: June 23 – June 29, 2024
Week 2: June 30 – July 6, 2024
Week 3: July 7 – July 13, 2024
Week 4: July 14 – July 20, 2024
Week 5: July 21 – July 27, 2024
Week 6 (Ross only): July 28 – August 3, 2024

Goshen 2023 units that reserved their spot at camp will get a confirmation email in early September with their new registration number.

Registration opens for the general public on September 6, 2023.

Information about provisional (individual) trek options at Lenhok’sin High Adventure and information about summer camp for small dens (only one leader) at Camp Ross will be available soon.

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information as we get ready for Summer 2024!

Pack 257 has a Ross-ome time at Goshen!

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Pack 257’s Webelos had an awesome summer camp adventure at NCAC’s Goshen Scout Reservation for a week in July. They jumped in the lake, they swam in the river, they shot BB guns and bows, they petted snakes and fished for the elusive cheese-moose! They sang, they danced, and they even saved the camp Phoenix! Camp Ross was totally ROSS-OME!!

 

NCAC Scouts Interview Astronaut on Space Station

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Scouts at Camp William B. Snyder interview astronauts from the Dining Hall

While at Camp William B. Snyder on Friday, July 21, 2023 for its Merit Badge Specialty Week, Scouts in the National Capital Area Council talked with astronauts on the International Space Station via Amateur Radio. This activity complements the BSA’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program and is part of the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) Program which promotes learning opportunities as part of its STEM initiative.

In the days leading up to the ISS interaction, nearly 200 Scouts attended the Specialty Week at Camp William B. Snyder.

During this week, Scouts:
• Practiced proper call signs and Morse code, drew charts of the electromagnetic spectrum and assembled dipole antennas as part of earning their Radio Badge
• Built, launched, and recovered model rockets as part of earning the Space Exploration Badge
• Read aeronautical charts, experimented with ailerons and propellers, and flew model airplanes as part of earning the Aviation Badge
• Made electromagnets to show magnetic attraction and repulsion as part of earning the Electricity Badge
• Programmed robots for autonomous tasks akin to Mars Rovers as part of earning the Robotics Badge

These are just a few of the many activities that the Scouts participated in during this fun week of learning. Of the 138 merit badges that Scouts are eligible to earn, over 50 are considered STEM merit badges. Nearly 35 subject matter experts volunteered to counsel the Scouts during this week, making this event possible.

The ARISS contact was performed using the Amateur Radio telebridge network, a world-wide network of amateur radio ground stations that enable students to contact the ISS. The amateur radio ground station operated by Claudio Ariotti established contact with the ISS is IK1SLD in, Casale Monferrato, Italy,  The ARISS mentor, Charlie Sufana AJ9N, was based in Florida and served as the ARISS Radio moderator for the event.

Scouts interviewed astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and had time to ask 13 questions. Astronaut Al Neyadi is an Emirati Astronaut who traveled to the ISS with NASA’s crew rotation flight, SpaceX Crew-6. Astronaut Al Neyadi is the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk.

The “ground” radio experts at Camp William B. Snyder were Pete Collat KI4YBH (Radio Merit Badge Counselor), Mike Aimone WA8AHZ (Virginia Radio Club coordinator) and Joe Porcelli KT3I (Virginia Wireless Club HAM). Porcelli set up a SATCOMM for Scouts to experience satellite chasing before and after the ISS contact.

A dozen STEM Scouts had a first look and experience with the SATCOMM in May, as the Virginia Wireless Club welcomed our Scouts to their radio field day. These STEM Scouts had completed a module on software-defined radio in which they listened to FM broadcasts, tracked airplanes, built a HAM radio, and captured GPS data. STEM Scouts is a National Capital Area Council program for girls and boys in grades 3-8 that incorporates hands-on activities to inspire youth in STEM. The SDR module encouraged hands-on experimentation as a basis for understanding technical subjects, and exposes Scouts to potential careers in broadcast engineering, telecommunications, computer science, consumer electronics, and more. Three of these STEM Scouts will take part in asking Astronaut Al Neyadi questions during the International Space Station contact on Friday.

The event was livestreamed at www.facebook.com/NCACSTEM and a complete recording can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/NCACSTEM/videos/796657518531573