On January 5, 2019, Dominic Gagliardi was awarded not only his Eagle Award but also the Dr. Bernard Harris Super Nova Award.
When Dominic started High School in the fall of 2014, he joined the Botball team of Explorer Post 1010 in addition to being a member of Boy Scout Troop 944 and Venture Crew 27, to start his path to the award. During this high school years he earned three Nova awards with each requiring earning a merit badge, at least 3 hours of study, and an experiment and a field trip.
Then, to earn the Super Nova, Dominic had to fulfill several more requirements, including earning 5 more STEM merit badges, researching a STEM career, shadowing a scientist or engineer, participating in STEM competition, researching a STEM debate, and sharing his knowledge. He shared what he learned by helping Cub Scout Pack 1975 earn a part of a nova award. Among other things, he showed them how a soda can demonstrated two different levers. As a member of Post 1010, Dominic participated in Botball competitions for each of his four years of high school. To prepare for theses competition,s he spent a minimum of 3 hours each week building, rebuilding , and coding an autonomous robot made from a rumba.
Only 20 others Boy Scouts have earned the Dr. Bernard Harris Super Nova award in our Council since its inception in 2012.
Wow! This years’ Klondike Derby was a fantastic, record-setting success!
The Klondike staff and volunteers developed 36 challenging stations set out across all of the Harpers Ferry KOA. Twelve stations were brand new, another four stations weren’t offered last year, and al-most every station had a new twist on it so returning scouts didn’t have a leg-up on first timers.
To compete in the Klondike, a patrol must manage their time wisely. They have seven program hours and a choice of stations of varying difficulty and pointes. The planning and leadership challenge is to earn as many points as possible, quickly, and move through as many stations as possible.
The 2019 Old Dominion District Klondike Derby welcomed troops, crews, and volunteers from the following districts: Aquia, Baltimore Area Council’s Capitol District, Colonial, Occoquan, Patriot, Patuxent, Piedmont, Po-tomac, Powhatan, Seneca, Washington DC, and Western Shore. Don’t see your district listed? Join us next year: Friday, January 31 to Sunday, February 2, 2020. Once again, we will offer discounts for units that leave Saturday night for religious observances!
In 1897 a gold discovery near Klondike, a region of the Yukon territory in northwest Canada, triggered the Klondike Gold Rush, which lasted from 1897 until 1899. Around 100,000 people decided to travel there, but only about 30,000 have been reported to have made it there.
In 1949 Boy Scout Troops from the Northern United States and from Canada started their reenactment of the Klondike Gold Rush to test their winter Scout skills and called it the Klondike Derby. It has since been adapted by Troops all over the United States, especially those with snow in their winters.
On Saturday, January 26, Units from the NCAC Potomac District met at Little Bennett Campgrounds in Germantown Maryland, to compete in the annual Potomac Klondike Derby. Despite most of the snow from the previous week washed away by Thursday’s rain, the freezing temperatures ensured the genuine Klondike winter feel, and most of the Scouts earned their Potomac District Polar Bear Patch for overnight camping below freezing point.
Powhatan District has hosted a Chess Classic for a decade under the direction of Roger Claff and Peter Snow. This year, they are expanding the Chess Classic to be Council-wide. This is a tournament with 5 rounds. Scouts need to register for their age appropriate bracket. Please see the links below for tournament rules and additional details.
The girls’ and boys’ Lions Dens from Pack 2019 at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, VA, completed their “I’ll Do It Myself” adventure. They made and decorated bags to keep their Scout swag organized and on hand. Each Scout chose how they wanted to decorate and with their parent partners’ help used glue guns, foam letters, glitter glue, and a slew of other craft supplies to make their bags shine.
These two dens have already earned their Lion’s Honor, Animal Kingdom, and King of the Jungle adventure loops and are well on their way to earning their full Lion ranks! Pack 2019 has girls’ dens for Lions, Wolves, and Bears, and are welcoming more Scouts every day.
Lab 1576, the first STEM Scouts unit in NCAC, held an electronics showcase this past Saturday.