Today, our Council! Staff loaded up a truck with around 600 cases of popcorn and pretzels worth over $100,000 which was then transported and donated to support military families in our community. Each year our Scouts sell popcorn to learn the value of earning their own way, setting goals, and contributing to their activity budget. When making a purchase, supporters are given the option of making a Heroes and Helpers donation. We are pleased to be able to #supportourtroops in this special way!
Allison Sproles stands on the shoulders of a family that deeply treasures the Eagle Scout program and BSA. She is 4th generation Eagle with all of the males in her family tree being Eagles since 1930. Her father, all her uncles and both Grandfathers were honored to hold the rank as well as her Great-Grandfather around 1930 when the program was still young. These generations know how impactful BSA is in young people’s lives and are grateful. Their legacy inspired her to engage in Scouting and achieving great things during her journey.
When asked what’s next in her journey Alison told NCAC ” I plan on pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and ultimately plan to pursue aerospace engineering or use engineering to help fight climate change! Similarly to Scouts, engineering is a predominately male field, however, Scouting has given me the power to keep my head high and be a leader despite the possible disadvantages or prejudices I might face.”
NCAC celebrates Allison and the Sproles family legacy!!
It’s almost here! 25 years of Venturing! Next Thursday, February 9th, is one of the most important dates to Venturing in our history, the date of our creation. To honor that, we in the National Capital Area Council will be hosting a virtual get-together starting at 9:00 pm EST. We’ll have a chance to meet each other, celebrate Venturing, and partake in good food.
In preparation of the gathering, we encourage you to provide yourself with a slice(s) of cake, ice cream, and the appropriate topping and a suitable beverage. Feel free to be as elaborate as you wish!
My advisor will be bringing an elaborate dessert of a slice of green cake with yellow frosting, vanilla ice cream, whip cream, caramel syrup, topped with a maraschino cherry and a strawberry float! I will be going with a simple cupcake and soda! What about you?
You can sign-up to join us on Thursday February 9th at the link here (http://bit.ly/venturing25).
Can’t wait to see all of you there in your amazing green Venture uniforms, and let’s get ready for another 25 years of Venturing!
Registration is open on the National website at https://jamboree.scouting.org.
The National Capital Area Council is looking for a few more youth to fill contingency vacancies. There are spots for 15 girls and only a few openings remain for boys. Register today to secure your spot! Adults wishing to attend Jamboree are encourage to volunteer as Jamboree staff; all Council positions for adults have been filled.
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. There will be a mandatory overnight event scheduled at Camp Snyder in June 2023. Contingent units will also meet periodically as a Troop prior to departing for Jamboree; details will be distributed by selected Scoutmasters.
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!
Fourteen Cub Scouts in Pack 1280, based in Potomac, Maryland, (http://cubscoutpack1280.org/) discovered the wonders of space exploration, enjoyed a special behind-the-scenes tour of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and earned their “Out of This World” Nova Award.
Scouts followed two tracks to achieve their Nova Award. Some began at Camp Goshen last summer, while others began at the Pack’s Fall campout. At the campout, Scouts participated in an interactive activity where each of them took on the roles of various celestial bodies to demonstrate the differences between rotation and revolution/orbit. Then, after this dizzying bit of engaged learning, the entire pack was invited to attend a star party to look for constellations and gaze through the telescope of NOVA coordinator Dan Tobocman.
“Unfortunately, because there is so much light pollution in the region, during the viewing party Scouts had a tough time picking out constellations. However, we had a great view of craters on the moon, four of Jupiter’s moons and the rings of Saturn,” Tobocman shared.
Tobocman then arranged for Jonn Van Eepoel, an aerospace engineer at NASA Goddard Flight Center, to meet the Scouts at Observatory Park in Gaithersburg to discuss gyroscopes and his work on the Osiris-Rex mission to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid. Scouts also shared their Mars rover or Moon base models and discussed the research on the wobble of the Earth that was conducted at Observatory Park starting over 100 years ago. This research still plays a role in the GPS in our smartphones today.
Van Eepoel, who has a Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was so impressed with the questions that the Scouts posed to him that he reached out to invite the group to visit him at NASA Goddard over winter break for a special behind-the-scenes tour!
The Scouts eagerly accepted the invitation and arrived on campus the morning of December 27th. After gathering their badges and passing through security, Scouts observed the largest Class 10,000 clean room in the world, learned about the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, saw a giant vacuum chamber, and talked with one of Van Eepoel’s colleagues about Solar radiation. At the end of the behind-the-scenes tour, Scouts made their way to the visitor’s center and outdoor rocket garden.
Best of all, participating in the NOVA and taking the special behind-the-scenes tour planted seeds of curiosity in our Scouts regarding space science and space exploration!
Learn more about Pack 1280 at: https://cubscoutpack1280.org
Learn more about Nova Awards at: https://www.scouting.org/stem-nova-awards/awards/cub-scout/
Learn more about NASA Goddard Space Flight Center at: https://www.nasa.gov/goddard
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Den leaders and scouting family of Pack 1513 shared with NCAC their Pinewood Derby experience this year: “We have a visually impaired scout this year, and we didn’t want his sight limitations to impact the excitement and engagement of the pinewood races. In an attempt to address this issue, our Den leaders presented an idea to attempt to add bells for sound at the finish line, hoping to accommodate his needs and to be part of the races. The bells turned out not to be the most practical. Still, coordinators (Mike Seaton, Joe Cuda, and Tim Maloney) creatively built a stand with wind-chimes suspended after the finish line, allowing the scout and attendees to hear the different notes from the cars as they finished the race. He was able to follow his car’s performance without seeing the races”. Simple innovations by our scouting family make scout activities accessible for all! Thank you for sharing Pack 1513! NCAC Wishes Everyone a Happy Pinewood Derby Season!!!!
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