We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Scouting Programs

Pack 278 Celebrates First Townes Supernova in 70 Years

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As Pack 278 enters its 70th year as a chartered BSA Pack serving boys and girls in the FSK District, leaders are excited to award it’s first Dr. Charles H. Townes Supernova to an Arrow of Light Scout, Finn H. The Dr. Charles H. Townes Supernova honors Dr. Townes’ many achievements. While working on the Townes Supernova, Finn was given the challenge to research 5 different scientists and engineers. Finn chose to research Ralph Baer, Jane Goodall, Katherine Johnson and Alan Turing. He found they had similarities to Townes and his ability to believe in himself despite others telling him his ideas would never work. The fifth innovator Finn researched was Walt Disney. Walt Disney believed that if you could dream it then it was possible. Throughout his life, Disney pushed the boundaries of what was possible by inventing a multi-plane camera to create the first full-length animated motion picture, Snow White. Walt Disney inspired his Imagineers to combine their imagination with technology to create incredibly life-like animatronics and innovative theme park rides. Like Disney, Supernova Mentors strive to inspire youth to believe in themselves and push the boundaries.

Finn’s parents would say that Finn has an overabundance of imagination. That imagination routinely materializes through Lego creations and occasionally scotch tape. While working on the Townes Supernova, Finn interviewed John Morin, a mechanical engineer responsible for designing and building the equipment and hardware that attaches rockets to the launch pad on the Northrup Grumman’s Antares and Omega programs. Finn continued to investigate his interest in engineering while completing other Townes Supernova requirements. Finn designed and built a birdhouse out of PVC drainage pipe. He spoke with his den leader, Adam Fogle, about the importance of angles when building and discussed why a tool that looks like a triangle is called a square. He completed a science experiment to better understand the structural design of bridges. He tested how different shapes like triangles, squares, and trapezoids can add to their strength. Finn has proven through his hard work over the past 18 months that he has potential as a future engineer if he continues to believe in himself and his imagination. Finn will continue Scouting with Troop 1066 in Jefferson, Maryland.

Cubic Bubbles made in STEM Scouts

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When you think of bubbles, what do you think of?

How about cubic bubbles? Do you think of economic bubbles or liquid or gaseous bubbles? How about glow in the dark bubbles?

In STEM Scouts Lab 605, sponsored by the Burke Centre Conservancy, we just finished a module called Bubbleology.

As the fanciful words suggests, STEM Scouts studied all aspects of bubbles, and experimented with manipulating the composition of their bubbles by going thru the engineering design process.

An underlying goal in each module is to introduce the youth to STEM careers. In this module, we learned about materials engineers are people who use their understanding of different materials (such as metals, plastics or wood) to make things that solve problems. STEM Scouts ‘stepped in to the shoes’ of materials engineers by experimenting with many different materials that can be used to make bubble wands and solution. We explored the chemistry behind the bubbles!

Scouts were guided thru experiments to design glow-in-the dark bubbles, and then given the challenge to demonstrate their own innovative bubble designs. Pictured here are Olivia’s creation of a hole in a bubble and David demonstrating his cubic bubble!

 

Pi Lab

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This week, STEM Scout Lab 314 in Powhatan District celebrated their namesake (or numbersake) Pi Day with gorgeous cookies!

Last September, we shared photos of the Lab’s first activity – wildlife sciences. They had just started out – a couple cub scout leaders with initiative – and launched the first STEM Lab in their district!

Today, we check in with Lab 314’s Lab Manager, Dr. Washow and hear how it’s going.

My name is Dr. Renee Washow, I am the Lab Manager for Lab 314. I run the Lab with David Lieu, a Chemist. We did little to no advertising this year because the Leadership team wanted to learn about the program and get a grasp on how to run it. We started with 5 Scouts. Through word of mouth and some people searching the web, we ended up with 16 Scouts; 6 of whom were not active in BSA before STEM Scouts.

I can only speak from my Lab’s experience but the kids have had a great experience. They have enjoyed the hands-on activities and have been able to learn a good deal about research design, how to run an experiment, and how to continue trying different approaches when one approach fails. They are learning about STEM but they are also learning valuable lessons in education and life, that you can make a mistake or fail but pick yourself up, try again, and succeed.

One of the things I love most about STEM Scouts is that it approaches STEM differently than other programs. The modules include far more than the traditional STEM classes, like robotics and coding, but dive into the science behind archeology and eco systems. They explore topics like chemistry in a fun away, through bubbles, and aerodynamics with a ton of different experiments. The kids favorite activity so far has been building the water filtration system in the Engineering module. They had a chance to experiment and talk through why different layers were not working or why they were working more slowly. Kids were comparing someone else’s super thick, mud mixture to their messy but not thick leaf and dirt mixture. They could see how the systems worked or didn’t work based on the changes they were making.

This is a program with huge potential. STEM Scouts is a great option because it is more cost effective for many parents than traditional STEM activities. It is also interesting because it covers a variety of STEM fields and not just one. If we can attract 6 kids who have never participated in BSA activities before without any type of advertising, imagine what we can do with some real effort.

Checkmate.

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The Marriott Scout Service Center was proud to host the annual Akela Chess Classic this February, as Cubs, SBSA and STEM Scouts took on the fun and challenge of chess in great stride! At the SBSA event alone, over 11 Districts and 22 registered – a great representation of NCAC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The youth demonstrated incredible sportsmanship, perseverance, and chess knowledge. For the SBSA youth working on the Chess Merit Badge, Mr. Roger Claff, Tournament Director even offered chess notation sheets. A number of SBSA youth took him up on it, and we surely may see some chess aficionados go on to earn the Designed to Crunch Nova.

 

The tournament has become a banner event for NCAC STEM, with its success owed to the dedication of Powhatan STEM Leader Mr. Roger Claff. For over 2 decades, Mr. Claff has perfected the tournament to a point where even his inspiring scoutmaster minute about winners with a journey is requested by many youth after the tournament!  Last year the tournament was not held owing to covid, but scouts benefited from the return of this annual tradition of fun and challenge.

Special thanks to:

  • Roger Claff, Tournament Director, for conceptualizing the Chess Belt Loop decades ago, developing a tournament nearly 2 decades ago, and evangelizing it into a Council Classic.
  • Ellen Claff, for her steadfast support and stepping in as Tournament Director whenever needed for double proctoring!
  • Michael Hanson, who drove from Powhatan to NCAC to serve as the proctor of both events! He represented STEM Scouts with the double uniform of a Class A + lab coat.
  • Jim Boyce from Potomac and Bill Wacek from Powhatan, who also served as proctors throughout the SBSA tournament, to help ensure double proctoring of the event.
  • Susan Plano-Faber from the NCAC STEM Committee for educating waiting parents about the many STEM opportunities across NCAC!
  • Peter Snow of Snow’s Chess Academy, for loaning all of the chess sets/boards to make this tournament a reality for so many consecutive years.

Above all, congratulations go to all of the scouts who showed up and participated! Each one earned a Chess Patch, and tournament winners also received trophies.

In between tournament rounds, youth played friendly chess games, practicing, sharing tips, having fun, and making friends. Waiting parents also were able to explore the MSSC HQ and learn about STEM activities across NCAC. Parents flipped thru the DC STEM Trek Guide, learned about the Council PWD and STEM Scouts. For more information about STEM events, please visit our STEM Page and Facebook page.

Pack 1540’s Blue & Gold BanQUEST – An adventure 112 years in the making

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Back in the B.S. era (before-Covid), our normal Blue & Gold Banquet included a meal and live entertainment. Our 2020 event was cancelled due to the growing pandemic. In 2021 we held a virtual banquet, encouraging Scouts to cook a meal with their parents and then tune in to a virtual mad scientists show. We haven’t been able to assemble all in one place indoors since the start of the pandemic, that is until last week.

For our 2022 Blue & Gold Banquet, Pack 1540 celebrated the 112th birthday of Scouting in America, Jurassic-style! Our main entertainment was a reptile show with turtles, snakes, and a few amphibians. We decided to not provide a meal – families were encouraged to eat before arriving, which helped ease some concerns about spacing and masking. We replaced eating time with dinosaur-themed activity stations:

  • Visitor Center: sent the Scouts on a scavenger hunt to find dinosaurs on the loose
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex: puppet operated by a volunteer
  • Fossil Dig Site: individual clay eggs with dinosaur toys inside
  • Veterinary Clinic: pin the tail on the dinosaur
  • Feeding Station: bean bag toss into dinosaur mouths
  • Mr. DNA’s Lab: dinosaur-themed activity pages
  • Petting Zoo: provided by a reptile expert

The event included a Jurassic Pack-style entrance gate, a movie-accurate Jeep provided by the Jurassic Park Motor Pool, friendly velociraptor keeping Scouts out of the elevator, and an opening skit performed by the Den Leaders that re-enacting parts of the opening scene of the movie complete with costumes and props (“You did it you crazy Cubmaster, you did it”). The evening ended with a big suprise – a life-size dilophosaurus!

Scouts and families had a “roaring” fun evening. Many, many thanks to our families and Den Leaders. Scouting finds a way!

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Register Now for Trout-o-Ree 2022!

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Welcome to Trout-O-Ree 2022!

On the weekend of April 1-3, the Scouts of the Prince William and Patriot Districts will head to the Trout-O-Ree. Trout Town, the semi-mythical municipality, will rematerialize to meet all your fishing needs. And then there’s the Mega-Bonus Prize: The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Trout Heritage Day events will be held on Saturday morning at the Rose River pavilions. And don’t forget our own fishing derby, Conservation Merit Badge Midway, and … a climbing wall!? Stay safe, remember the Outdoor Code, and have a troutastic time! https://scoutingevent.com/082-PWDTroutoree2022