Scouting Programs

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!

The Venturing program is what many scouts do to have more adventurous activities while still staying true to the scouting principles that draw so many to scouting. This year, Venturing turns 25 years old! To celebrate, the Council Venturing Officers’ Association (CVOA), is hosting a lock-in at Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria, VA.

This will be an amazing opportunity with opportunities to rock climb, work on requirements for the mountaineering aspect of the Ranger award, hang out with some of the amazing scouts and Venturers in the council, and celebrate a milestone achievement for the Venturing community. This event is open to Venturers and non-Venturers. All that is required is that someone be of Venturing age (14 to 21 years old) and interested in doing some climbing.

The lock-in will be February 10-11, from 9 pm to 9 am. Sign-up can be completed using this link (https://forms.gle/9Xx3Bk9MckR85UYU7).

I look forward to seeing many of you there. Join us as we lead the adventure!

SEA SCOUT QUARTERMASTER PROJECT SUMMARY:
From Jan thru November of this past year, I was able to successfully lead our Ship 1942 in the assembly and installation of 20 Mono-Filament Recycling Tubes at five marinas across Northern Virginia. The installation of these recycling tubes was part of my Sea Scout Quartermaster project, and my BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award project.  Three of the marinas were within the NOVA Parks system located at Fountainhead Marina, Occoquan Marina, and Bull Run Marina. The other two parks were part of the National Park Service located at the Washington Sailing Marina, and Fletcher’s Cove.

BSA DISTINGUISHED CONSERVATION AWARD PROJECT SUMMARY
My BSA Distinguished Conservation Service project was focused on the Air and Water Pollution Control Category. Mono-Filament fishing line was collected in these 20 recycling tubes during the summer of 2022, and I was able to collect 32 miles of fishing line. The line was shipped by West Marine (free of charge) to Berkley Institute in Iowa to be recycled. Overall, my project increased the number of recycling tubes from 8 tubes to 20 tubes, an increase of 150%. The largest impact came from the increase in line collected, from 1.68 miles in 2021 to 31.9 miles collected in 2022. An increase of 1,798%, or an 18-fold increase.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Another key element of my BSA Distinguished Conservation Service project was to provide Community outreach. I attended five Community Events in order to educate and inform my Community, where over 850 people attended:
1) GREEN EXPO (Apr): 250 people attended at the Vienna Community Ctr.
2) Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math (STEAM) (Apr)): A large event
where 380 – 400 people, with 28 exhibits at Laurel Ridge Middle School.
3) Student Environmental Action Showcase (SEAS) (May): George Mason Univ
Community Virtual Event with 40-50 attendees and 39 presentations.
4) 19th Annual GREEN Community Celebration (Jun): Shirlington Library Plaza,
in Arlington, VA. with150 attendees, 12 booths & electric cars/motorcycles.
5) NCAC Sea Scout Cub Scout Fishing Derby (Jun): Fountainhead Marina
where 52 Cub Scouts were taught fishing line recycling & fishing!

Below is the NOVA Regional Park Manager’s thank you note for my projects:

Dear Quinn,
“Thanks to your efforts, individuals and families visiting Fountainhead and Bull Run Marina can enjoy fishing as a recreational amenity of the park, while also being able to recycle their fishing line and preserve the important environmental resource we have in the Occoquan Reservoir”.

Sincerely, Kate Irwin, NOVA Regional Park Manager

This year, NCAC held its’ inaugural Council Pinewood Derby Championship!

Cub Scouts (and a STEM Scout) brought their qualifying cars from 12 different NCAC districts to the race. All NCAC district winners from the “covid years” (2020-2022) were invited, seeing as this was the first Council-wide championship!

In addition to races for speed at each rank, the  Championship  included an “outlaw” race in which adults and youth cars were welcome, even over the 50z limit.

Lastly, three awards were presented to cars for Best in Show and Design Excellence. This event took place at the Camp Snyder Dining Hall on October 15, 2022.

STEM Awards
Explorer Mihai Z. offered to create awards for the Pinewood Derby Championship that had a “STEM touch”. For the rank awards (first – 3rd place in each rank from lions to AOLs), Mihai 3D printed stands that would display the plaque and serve as a holder for each car. He laser engraved the plaques in Michael’s Woodshop and affixed metal inlays in each color: gold, silver and bronze. Mihai also created plaques for overall speed winners and design winners.

Woodshop steward, Mr. Schneeman, and Exploring Advisor Dr. Ziu also helped with the design and creation of these STEM awards!

Leadership

Next Year

Please save the date: May 20, 2023 for the next NCAC Pinewood Derby Championship! District winners will be invited.

Are you a District Pinewood Derby Chair? Pinewood Derby enthusiast? We’d love to connect with you in spring as we finalize the 2023 rules!

On November 19, dozens of Cub Scouts and STEM Scouts found their way to George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus, where the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences’ Geology group hosted interactive workshops.

The activities included learning how to identify different rocks and minerals, learning how to read topographic and geologic maps, creating mineral hardness tests, recognizing geologic materials around the house, and discussing the wide range of activities that can be part of a geologist’s work day.

Webelos earned the “Earth Rocks” adventure by attending the workshop, and all Cubs earned some requirements towards their Nova: Down and Dirty STEM Award!

Best of all, the scouts benefitted from the incredible instruction directly from GMU’s AOES faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students. This event was designed by Dr. Julia Nord in 2014 who designed the program with Northern Virginia Mineral Club’s then president Jim Kostka and NCAC Powhatan District’s then STEM Coordinator Tony Petruzzi. After a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to covid protocols on campus, we are delighted that GMU welcomed our scouts again for this always popular opportunity! We are thankful to Dr. Julia Nord and Dr. Jules Goldspiel for their leadership in reviving this excellent program, as well as to all the students in GMU’s STEM accelerator who supported the activities.

After the Geology activities, the scouts were able to visit the Gem and Mineral show on the GMU campus. The show is co-sponsored by the Northern Virginia Mineral Club, and the timing of the show is coordinated with the Scouting event to help make a full day of geology centered activities. The show was also open to all GMU students and the public, and it was by all reports a fun and successful event for the students, community, vendors and the Friends of Mineralogy Virginia Chapter.

To learn more about the scouting Nova Awards: www.scouting.org/STEM
To learn more about upcoming NCAC STEM events: www.ncacbsa.org/STEM