We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Scouting Programs

Register Today For Powder Horn 2022

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The Powder Horn course is designed to help the unit by introducing youth and adult Scouting Leaders to safely conducted outdoor/high-adventure activities of a fun and challenging nature. The course provides an introduction to the resources needed to lead youth through successfully a program of outdoor adventure and is based upon giving participants an exposure to some outdoor/high-adventure activities. It is not a certification event. It is for any youth or adult interested in experiencing a unit-level, high-adventure program.

The purpose of a Powder Horn course includes:

■ Safe participation in fun and challenging outdoor activities

■ An introduction to resources that can improve a unit’s program

■ Exposure to new and exciting high-adventure activities

■ Help in delivering the BSA promise at the unit level

■ Promoting youths’ and adults’ creativity when delivering high-adventure programs

Powder Horn at Camp St Charles
Friday 8-26-2022 8:00 AM  to Sunday 8-28-2022 5:00 PM

Register using the link below.

https://scoutingevent.com/082-49585?fbclid=IwAR0S_dXCdislDLZ3XV072lbf1wAwM-rXyH83iqzQMltwI4CN0IthUFnfr0c

Cub Scouts field trip is Out of this World!

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Pack 88 in Lorton VA recently held its first Nova Night where 25 Cub Scouts completed the Out of this World award.

The scouts built balloon rockets, learned the forces of flight, created a scale solar system and designed a Mars base. The evening was capped off with a zoom call with Michael Fossum, a retired NASA astronaut and grandfather of one of the Wolf scouts.

To round out the requirements the Pack went on a field trip to the Udvar-Hazy center and saw the Space Shuttle Discovery that their distinguished visitor commanded.

To learn the more about the STEM Nova awards, please visit: www.scouting.org/STEM

If Bigfoot Can Leave No Trace, So Can Scouts!

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On Saturday, March 26, Sara Holtz, Deborah Manhken, and Evelyn Bruno with 15 Scouts and 11 Scouters from all over NCAC got together to talk about the role of the Outdoor Ethics Guide in Scouts BSA. Once known as “Leave No Trace Trainer”, the Outdoor Ethics Guide is a leadership position for a Scout in a Troop that provides Scouts to be in the unique position to help others make choices to reduce impact upon the natural world. You can learn more about the position here: scouting.org/outdoor-programs/outdoor-ethics-guide/

This session of the course was a beta test with many hands-on activities to include: Camp OH NO! A trash timeline, the Generation Game, the Thumb Trick, etc. You can check out more games like these in “Bigfoot’s Playbook” published by the Center for Outdoor Ethics.

The biggest thanks to the following Scouts who helped lead the various Leave No Trace (LNT) activities: Meera, Cayden, Hunter, Alex, and Andrew!!!!

Since this beta test course went so well, there are plans to offer it in various locations across NCAC. Contact Sara (sh12sh34@gmail.com), Deborah (dsmahnken@aol.com), or Evelyn (evelynann.bruno@gmail.com) if your district wants to host this class for OEGs (and Scouts interested in becoming OEG) and their advisors.

 

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.