We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

The Scouter Digest Staff

STEM-TASTIC SUMMER FOR A LOCAL CUB SCOUT!

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This summer has been STEM-tastic, for local scout, Marco J. Martin. During the summer of 2018, Marco spent countless hours working on the Boy Scouts of America NOVA and Supernova STEM program and on Friday, June 14, 2019 all of his hard work was recognized when he received the Dr. Luis Alvarez Supernova medal, a plaque, a NOVA patch and a variety of congratulatory letters from his Senator, Congressman and County Executive to mark this momentous occasion. What an awesome way to begin a STEM-tastic Summer.

His next STEM adventure would take place as he participated in his first Cub Scout Summer Day Camp in Hughesville, MD at the Kings Landing National Park. He had an opportunity to present a STEM project to his fellow Scouts and complete the NOVA section: Uncovering the Past with the help of his camp Den Leader, Amanda Zimmerman.


Once Cub Scout Camp came to a close, he continued to explore the world of STEM by attending a STEM Fair at the Community Center in Alexandria, VA which was sponsored by an organization named Fly Minds. At this event, he was the grand prize winner of a STEM door raffle. He won his very own VEX Robot. Later in the summer, he attended 2 of 3 free STEM Day programs by Fly Minds where he was a part of team that built and programmed their own robot. Now that’s cool!!

Just when you thought his STEM-TASTIC Summer couldn’t get any better, a new STEM Scout unit was forming in Alexandria, VA which he became a part of. His Cub Scout Pack 539 was taking a break during the summer and his STEM Scout unit Lab 9941 led by Burt Wagner was just getting off the ground. His new uniform was a lab coat, disposal gloves and rubber goggles. The first three weeks his unit did science experiments that made Slime, a Bouncy Ball and Silly Sand. Each experiment required Marco and his lab mates to read lab instructions, gather the necessary ingredients and mix various items to get different results as the project called for. It was funny watching the kids learn by measuring and modifying the experiments to see if more or less of an item made a difference towards the end result.


Marco’s last STEM adventure for the Summer would involve the DMV NSBE Jr Chapter located at Howard University. He became a new member and membership has privileges. During the school year, he will be a member of the Lego Robotics team. Each weekend, he will have the chance to learn Spanish and work on Advance mathematics. What I thought was the coolest thing that NSBE Jr had to offer was Marco could talk to an Astronaut and get all of his science and space questions answered.

STEM summer days are over and Prince George’s County schools are be back in session. Hopefully, this article will encourage other Scouts to learn more about STEM and to see what activities occur during the school year! Have a STEM-TASTIC day!

Troop 1422 Scouts Earn SCUBA Certification and Merit Badge

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Star Scout Peydon Wilmoth (left), Life Scout Joey Sheldrick (center), and Scoutmaster Jon Culberson (right) of Troop 1422 Mattaponi District, National Capital Area Council attended Scuba Camp at Pipsico Scout Reservation where they earned “Open Water Diver” SCUBA Certification and Scouts earned SCUBA Merit badge. Upon arrival participants had to pass a SCUBA swim test, which includes a 200-yard swim and a 10-minute surface float without aid. The course consists of three parts: classroom, confined water, and open water.

SCUBA students begin their week at Pipsico Scout Reservation to learn, practice, and demonstrate material for the entry level “Open Water Diver” certification. This consists of classroom study and testing with intervals of confined water diving in the onsite pool. On Wednesday of SCUBA Camp, participants loaded up personal gear, camping supplies, and dive equipment to complete their practical training at Lake Phoenix (formerly Lake Rawlings). On Thursday evening, participants returned to Pipsico after completing 5 Open Water Dives to depths of 50 feet.

Troop 1422 normally meets Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm, and is Chartered and supported by American Legion Post 320, located in Spotsylvania County.

Exploring Post on the Bay

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Clean the Chesapeake and the BSA are pleased to announce a new Exploring Post program to help restore the Chesapeake Bay!

This is an opportunity to participate in a brand new, conservation themed Exploring Post for high school age youth that will be dedicated to Chesapeake oyster restoration. This is a chance to be a part of something new and to make a difference in our environment. The organization, One Montgomery Green, is sponsoring the Post. Participants will learn about oyster management, water quality, boating, local partnerships, and more. Who loves oysters?

This program engages teens through a unique year-long project. Youth will gain hands-on experience related to careers in in science, conservation, resource management and advocacy.

Interested? Contact Post Advisor: Reuven Walder (301) 802-7038 or info@cleanthechesapeake.org
or District Executive: Stephen Donnelly, Stephen.Donnelly@Scouting.org

Labor Day Family Camp at Goshen

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Goshen’s Labor Day Weekend Family Camp was a great experience once again! Families and friends came from near and far to camp out and enjoy all the activities at beautiful Goshen Scout Reservation. In addition to the standard Family Camp activities of swimming, shooting, boating, archery, and crafting, families were able to fly through the sky on the giant swing at COPE. Volunteers Tony and Chuck from the COPE and Climbing Committee, along with camp staff and staff alumni, opened up rappelling on Goshen’s climbing tower – a new Family Camp activity!

There were also opportunities to take in the sights and beauty. On the water, the pontoon boat took riders on tours of the lake. On land, hikes to the Swimming Hole and Viewing Rock took hikers to some of the highlights of Goshen.

And once again, Lauren returned for Labor Day Family Camp to call the Saturday Night Square Dance with her boundless enthusiasm. Everyone had a fantastic time showing off the dance moves she taught them – as well as some of their own! The night was about to end with the Last One Standing challenge line dance to the tune of Footloose, but with so much energy, kids requested a two song encore!

They brought that tremendous energy to the campfire the following night, where families, Troops, Packs, Staff, and Staff Alumni shared their favorite songs, skits, and stories before heading back to their campsites for bed.

Labor Day Weekend Family Camp was a great time for all ages! We hope to see you next year, either at our Memorial Day Weekend Family Camp or on Labor Day Weekend Family Camp!

Troop 1518 Heads to Scuba Jam

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The adults and scouts from Troop 1518 are getting ready to drive to Lake Phoenix in Rawlings, VA for an exciting long weekend of Scuba diving at Scuba Jam. Held every Labor Day for the past 10 years, youth from all over Virginia, DC, and Maryland come to dive, win prizes, and have a fun weekend of camping before the demands of school get in the way.

This will be the third Scuba Jam for Troop 1518. The troop had several members certified to Scuba dive at BSA Sea Base in 2017 and found this annual camp a great way to do some local diving and keep skills sharp. This year even more boys from the troop have earned their certification and will be attending.

The Saturday and Sunday are when the diving related events happen. Troops and crews divide into buddy teams and compete in underwater events ranging from treasure hunts to putting plastic crabs in a bucket using a fly swatter. On land these are trivial tasks, but doing them underwater requires good control of buoyancy, communication with your buddy, and pre-dive planning. Here, the team needed to find a very specific combination of tokens underwater and return to the dock on time, so put one member in charge of holding the tokens and another on monitoring time.

When not diving for competition, teams go out and explore the sunken attractions around the quarry. Below one of the boys poses with a submerged Blackhawk helicopter that they just explored.
The quarry also has a school bus, airplane, and several boats and cars, not to mention a campsite complete with hot tub that you can sit in. The favorite activity by far is the underwater basketball court, complete with bowling balls which sink slowly in water.

The weekend isn’t all about diving. Scouts can finish their Scuba diving merit badge, too. Below is one of our troop members practicing CPR on a dummy.

Sunday night is the closing activity with a big dinner and prizes. Local dive stores and manufacturers donate both gear and scholarship money and everyone walks away with at least something. One of our troop won a very nice underwater camera set in 2017 and returned in 2018 to take videos and pictures. Others have won scholarships they can use at a local dive center to buy gear or more training.

We’d love to see more people come to Scuba Jam. Head over to http://www.scubajam-va.org/ to read important messages about what’s required to participate and find a local dive center sponsoring the event. They all offer special gear rental packages for the weekend and can help you get registered. Food, camping, and air fills are provided as part of the registration so all you need to do is show up!

Cub Scout Conservation Project

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Don’t forget to visit Michael’s Woodshop during the

Scouting Skills day, you can register here.

Three Cub Scouts from Pack 1601, Powhatan District, who were attending summer camp at Camp William B. Snyder had the opportunity to visit Michael’s Woodshop. They used their open program time to perform a conservation project for Camp Snyder. Over the course of an hour, the Cub Scouts received a safety briefing and went to work drilling, sanding and hammering. Not only did they have the opportunity to build their skills, they also did a good turn for the camp. At the end of their session, they had each completed the assembly of a fine, hand-crafted wren house for placement on the camp property. Awesome job!

Are you looking for a great conservation project? Camp Snyder’s Conservation Plan calls for the construction and installation of dozens of bird houses around the property. Projects are available for all ages and skill levels; small and large, basic and complex. Bird houses not your thing? Camp Snyder has a long list of other volunteer service project opportunities around the property. You can attend a Volunteer Service Day or you come out individually, in small teams or in large groups. For more information about service projects, please contact Camp Snyder (Camp.Snyder@Scouting.Org).

Michael’s Woodshop is a safe, hands-on work space that was designed for use by Scouts of all ages to create and learn. Michael’s Woodshop may be reserved for Unit activities, District events, Eagle Scout projects and other Scouting activities. For information about shop capabilities, upcoming events, reserving the shop or to learn more about volunteering, please visit the Michael’s Woodshop page on the Camp Snyder website https://www.gotosnyder.org.

Attending Scouting Skills day on
September 14, 2019
11:00-4:00
Be sure and visit Michael’s Woodshop during the
Scouting Skills day.
If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so here.