Scouts from Troop 7227 on St. Croix, USVI organized a bike outing to assist members who are working on rank and merit badge requirements. They started at the Howard Wall camp and stopped for refreshments at the Southgate Coastal Reserve. Beautiful views of the Caribbean Sea and cooling breezes welcomed the Scouts.
Did you know that there are opportunities to camp at Goshen Scout Reservation beyond summer camp?
The first big event each summer, is in fact Memorial Day Weekend Family Camp at Goshen! Campers enjoyed activities at the waterfront, shooting range, COPE course, and handicraft areas.
The next opportunity for Family Camping at Goshen is Labor Day Weekend, September 2-5, 2022.
Registration for Family Camp is $30/camper, and is open here: https://www.gotogoshen.org/events/family-camp/
Goshen Staff and volunteers supply all the program. You just need to bring your own food and camping equipment!
Photos are courtesy of the GSR Facebook page.
The Composite Materials Merit Badge was published by BSA in 2006. Since then, almost every year it has ranked in the bottom ten of merit badges earned in BSA. Specifically, in 2021, Composite Materials ranked 131 out of 137 merit badges according to Bryan on Scouting. 
If you look at the requirements of the Composite Materials merit badge, you’ll notice that it is demanding in terms of hands-on materials.
On April 23 and May 21, 2022, NCAC’s STEM Committee partnered with an Alexandria, VA based organization to offer the Composite Materials Merit Badge class to nearly 175 scouts.
The organization, Building Momentum, offers military training as well as community education thru dynamic programs. Often, their programs involve Arduinos, drones, welding, CAD, laser engraving, etc. The NCAC STEM Committee is working with Building Momentum’s Senior Education Associate, Cecily, to map Building Momentum’s incredible capabilities with scouting events.
Last week, we wrote about the incredible Welding merit badge workshop the Cecily and her team put forth for scouts. https://weownadventure.com/scouts-weld-nameplates-on-their-way-to-earning-new-awards/
Well, that wasn’t the only workshop! Building Momentum also led workshops for scouts to earn Composite Materials merit badges. Scouts learned about polymers, resins, their physical and chemical properties, toxicity, strength, softness, availability and cost effectiveness. A particularly interesting discussion ensued regarding cost – scouts noted that the cost comparison of materials was different from when the Composite Materials pamphlet was last updated in 2012. Now, in 2022, with the current supply chain challenges, lumber was more expensive than most metals.
For their projects, scouts made knife sheaths with fiberglass and acrylic boxes affixed with epoxies.
The Welding merit badge was first offered by BSA in 2012. The cover of the MB pamphlet shows a welder, safety gear, and on the bottom right corner, a patch of the BSA Nova Award. That emblem indicates that a merit badge counts for towards an additional award – a BSA STEM Nova or Supernova Award. Specifically, the Welding MB counts towards the Dr. Bernard Harris and Thomas Edison Supernova Awards. You can read their full requirements here.
On April 23 and May 21, 2022, NCAC’s STEM Committee partnered with an Alexandria, VA based organization to offer the Welding Merit Badge class to nearly 200 scouts.
The organization, Building Momentum, offers military training as well as community education thru dynamic programs. Often, their programs involve 
Arduinos, drones, welding, CAD, laser engraving, etc. The NCAC STEM Committee is working with Building Momentum’s Senior Education Associate, Cecily, to map Building Momentum’s incredible capabilities with scouting events.
To kickstart our partnership, Building Momentum held two days of workshops this spring, focused on Welding. Each workshop totaled 3.5 hours. Scouts learned about welding safety, practiced welding, then welded their own nameplates. The event was made possible thanks largely to Ms. Cecily Wynne of BuildMo who took the time to design this welding experience for scouts, as well as other incredible facilitators of Building Momentum, and over a dozen SBSA volunteers who assisted as classroom helpers, registration assistants, and general volunteers.
This year NCAC’s Cub Scout Day camp had the theme of Superheroes. Mattaponi District STEM Chair, Wendy Latella, designed a series of STEM stations all of which were right on theme!
In an action-packed week, Cub Scouts learned about density with Aquaman, properties of water with Superman/ 
Mr. Freeze, and machines with Wonderwoman. For the culminating activity on Friday, all Cubs worked thru an escape room, themed around X-Men unite. The cubs had a blast as you can see from the photos!
Ms. Latella generously shared her STEM-action hero themed day camp plans below:
Monday (Aquaman / Water)
Tuesday (Superman vs Mr. Freeze / Lasters)
Wednesday (Wonderwoman / Flying Machine and Robin / Water Boat)
Thursday (Mr. Freeze / Frost / Cold)
Friday (X-Men Unite / Escape Room)
STEM – ESCAPE ROOM
Coming this fall to Camp William B. Snyder is Camping Palooza, a day event celebrating scouting in NCAC by showcasing aspects from all areas of scouting. Including activities from STEM, Scouting History, food, music, games, and more, Camping Palooza will be hosted by the Amangamek-Wipit Lodge and will be open to all ages of scouts and scouters. Some hints of what’s to come include nature, handicrafts, a marching band, special guests, and to end the day, a closing show sure to wow and excite. This jamboree of sorts will be taking place on October 15 2022, and our team can not wait to see you there!
Camping Palooza not only provides exciting activities, but also opportunities to network and meet other scouts. Camping Palooza is open to everyone! From Cub Scouts to Eagles, Sea Scouts, Venture Crews, all branches and ages of scouting are welcome at this event. With as many activities as we have planned, there is sure to be something for everyone!
We are still thinking up tons of thrilling program activities that are sure to excite everyone from the youngest Lion Scout to the most experienced adults, so if you have an idea for an awesome activity, or if you would like to join the event staff and lend your assistance for the day, let us know at campingpalooza@wipit470.org.
