We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

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Celebrating Our 1000th Pinewood Derby Car!

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On January 8, 2022 Xander, a Bear from Pack 858 attended a Pack Pinewood Derby Session and created the 1000th pinewood derby car in Michael’s Woodshop! Xander started by creating his own car design. With assistance from shop volunteer “Mr. Gene” Lockhart, he then cut, sanded and added weights to his car. The end result was a great looking and sure-to-be-competitive car. To commemorate the occasion, Xander was presented with a special Pinewood Derby Car display stand with a 1000th Car inscription. Please join us in wishing Xander the best of luck in his races, but in our book, he is already a winner!

Michael’s Woodshop is currently in the midst of its 4th Annual Pinewood Derby Days season. View the Pinewood Derby Days 2021-22 slideshow on the shop here to see more of the fun! While Pinewood Derby Days is one of the most popular programs, Michael’s Woodshop operates year-round with opportunities for youth of all ages to participate in a variety of shop activities. Michael’s Woodshop offers great Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It workshops, Woodwork Merit Badge classes and has recently added several new Woodshop Specialty Classes. In addition, the shop is a great venue for hosting Eagle Scout and Summit Award projects as well as conservation projects and other unit activities.

Please visit the Michael’s Woodshop for more information about the shop capabilities and upcoming events and for information about reserving the shop. If you have questions or would like additional information, please email the volunteer team at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com

Troop 1444 Scout Teaches Elderly Church Members Computer Skills

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Life Scout Hazael M. of Troop 1444 noticed a sudden drop in attendance at his church following the shift from physical meetings to virtual during the pandemic; concerned, he resolved to find out why. Hazael emailed a survey to all regular attendees; what he found was that many members of his church, especially the seniors to which it typically catered, felt uncomfortable with the new technology and didn’t know how to use programs like Zoom to access the sermons. Hazael decided to use his Eagle Project to address this problem and rallied both his church and volunteers to help seniors develop technological literacy. 

Hazael recognized that many older parishioners lacked the necessary digital devices and sought help from his community, successfully obtaining two computers to donate to seniors in need. Hazael then organized educational events in conjunction with his church; these were held on Zoom to encourage people in their first steps with the program. This training also allowed people to call into the Zoom Room via phone if they still felt uncomfortable with the application. Hazael created online presentations demonstrating to seniors the do’s and don’ts of Zoom, online communication, and several other key digital programs, and set up breakout rooms where helpers could walk seniors through the technology. 

When Hazael learned one particular active and outgoing member of his church couldn’t attend the sessions due to extreme visual impairments that prevented him from using Zoom rooms or even seeing his computer screen, the Scout took a more hands-on approach. Hazael brought one of the donated computers to the parishioner’s house and worked with him personally to activate the accessibility features on his computer and walk him through the digital processes.

Hazael’s project was well-received by the church members; as he recalls, “The best part was, after the training, when they left the breakout room they’d come to me. They’d say “Thank you Hazael” or “This was really helpful.” They said I should share it with other churches and do it in other places where I could. It felt really great to be appreciated.”

Wanting to further maximize his project’s impact, Hazael used his project to promote the community’s ongoing vaccination efforts: as seniors were walked through the process of online communications, volunteers would also assist them in registering to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, finding locations with open availability and guiding them through the process of signing up. 

To all Scouts thinking about their path to Eagle Scout, Hazael offers this advice: “Make sure you’re really determined and upfront in what you want to do and how you want to do it. If you’re not the most confident in what you want to do, or interested in, you won’t really have the motivation to carry through. You don’t want to stop halfway through and change your ideas.”

Leave No Trace Trainer courses this fall

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NCAC will be hosting three Leave No Trace Trainer courses this fall for scouts and scouters. These courses will be hybrid with an online session on Monday night and an in-person session on Saturday.

Purpose of this Course

Participants in the Trainer Course learn Leave No Trace skills and ethics as well as techniques for educating others about these low impact practices. Research has shown that this course significantly improves participant knowledge and understanding of how Leave No Trace protects the outdoor places we love. The goal of this course is to teach students taking the course how to introduce the concept of Outdoor Ethics in a fun and engaging way to a group with little experience in outdoor ethics. It should help youth and adults at all program levels understand the general principles behind Scouting’s outdoor ethics program. Graduates of a Trainer Course are prepared to lead Outdoor Ethics Orientation and BSA Leave No Trace 101 courses and to offer Leave No Trace Awareness Workshops to their community.

We recommend that youth complete this course before serving as in the troop Outdoor Ethics Guide position.

Who should attend?

This course will be of interest to any youth or registered Scouter who is associated with either implementing or training for any BSA outdoor program at any level. It is also well-suited for anyone who would like to pass on the knowledge of how to treat the outdoors and protect its beauty for others to enjoy. Youth must be at least 14 years old. Youth must be willing and able to conduct themselves appropriately for an adult training experience that is tightly scheduled and highly interactive.

Course Structure

This course will take place in three parts.

The first part of the course is offered using a combination of online self-study modules. This portion of the course will begin about 10 days before the final outdoor portion of the course. During this portion of the course, students will also prepare a 10–15-minute lesson which they will present to other students in their assigned patrol during the outdoor session of the course. This portion of the course will take approximately 6 hours to complete.

The second part of the course is a one-hour online Zoom meeting held the Monday before the Saturday outdoor portion of the course. At this meeting, students will accomplish two goals. They will review with an instructor how they plan to present their lesson on Saturday. This is also when meal planning for the Saturday session will be done.

The final part of the course is an all-day outdoor session on a Saturday. During this session, students will:

  • Present to their fellow patrol members the lessons they have prepared
  • Practice Leave No Trace cooking techniques
  • Learn about Leave No Trace activities and games
  • Learn how to use education to help others reduce their outdoor recreation impacts
  • Share ideas with other students and instructors
  • Learn about the resources available to help spread the message of Leave No Trace
  • Prepare an action plan for how you will use what they’ve learned

Note: Additional course details will be emailed to participants a few weeks prior to the course.

Scout Specialty Week in Michael’s Woodshop

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In July, Camp William B. Snyder hosted Scout Specialty Week, its first ever Scouts BSA Merit Badge Week. Among the extensive merit badge offerings, Michael’s Woodshop offered the Woodwork Merit Badge, accommodating fourteen youth during three “double length” sessions offered during the week. Scouts began the week covering the “non-tool-use” requirements; shop safety, first aid, lumber milling, curing and grading and tool sharpening. Then the real fun began! Scouts created three projects, each demonstrating the use of different tools, joints or cuts and then designed and built their own project.

The three projects worked on during the week were the Classic Tool Box, a Wooden Mallet (renamed “Thor’s Hammer” by the Scouts) and a Cell Phone Stand. Each project allowed Scouts to use different tools and to learn and practice certain skills and techniques. Scout creativity was on full display during the “design your own” projects with a great range of interesting projects including paper towel holders, PWD car displays, coat racks and even an airplane and a boat! Thirteen of fourteen Scouts fully completed their requirements with the final Scout’s completion contingent only on earning his Totin’ Chip (the only requirement Scouts needed to complete outside of class). It was a very successful week in the woodshop! Check out our slideshow Scout Specialty Week 2021 to see more of the fun.

Michael’s Woodshop operates year-round and is a great venue for Scouts to create and learn. Woodwork Merit Badge classes are offered monthly and Troops may also schedule their own merit badge sessions. In addition, the shop may also be reserved for other Unit activities such as our Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It Workshops, conservation projects and Eagle Scout Projects.

Please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage for more information about the shop capabilities and upcoming events or for information about reserving the shop. If you have questions or would like additional information, please email the volunteer team at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com

Check Out The 2021 Potomac District Pinewood Derby!

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The 2021 Potomac District Pinewood Derby is in the books!  On Saturday June 12th, a total of 66 cars from Packs around the Potomac District raced and the event picked up two more Packs participating this year over the field from the 2020 event. The event was held again remotely, as it was for the first time last year, and streamed out via a private Youtube channel. The race can be rewatched for a finite period here:  https://youtu.be/QleFyboKOpM.

Cub Scouts chatted online as they competed for fastest cars by rank and for appearance in five judge’s categories.  Despite it being essentially shaped and painted blocks of wood rolling down an incline, an event like this is takes planning and a core team of dedicated volunteer Scouts and Scouters. Three Scouts BSA, Peter C. of Troop 472, Connor V. and Devin C. of Troop 1450, ran the car check-in and race day heats and Dr. Stan Fricke of the NCAC STEM Committee served once again the Master of race day ceremonies. Eric Van Ryzin of Troop 1450 and Vince Camobreco, of Troop 472, provided the equipment and technical know-how, Stephen Allen, Potomac District Field Director, provided the online registration and NCAC provided the venue to broadcast from.  Charles McKee and Jim Boyce of Pack 1280 coordinated the overall planning and awards.  And appreciation goes to all the Pack points of contact who coordinated race car drop-offs for their Units in the week before the event. Next year the organizers look forward to seeing this event return to being in-person.

Scouts start designing those new cars!

June 12, 2021 Potomac District Pinewood Derby Pit Crew (L-R): First Class Scout Devin C., Life Scout Conner V., Scoutmaster Eric Van Ryzin, Dr. Stan Fricke, Life Scout Peter C., Cubmaster Jim Boyce, Scoutmaster Vince Camobreco.

Thank You To Our Friends of Scouting!

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On behalf of our Scouts here at NCAC, thank you to our donors for your dedication and continued support! Scouting develops self-reliance, leadership, and character in youth.  It increases their chances for success and improves the quality of not only their lives, but also the community in which they will grow to adulthood. Thank you to the individuals, families, and organizations for your contribution in helping make a difference in the lives of our Scouts.

How You Can Still Help

If you have not yet made a contribution to our annual Friends of Scouting Campaign please consider doing so by visiting NCACBSA.org/Give. If you have been kind enough to donate, please take this time to see if your employer will match your gift and double your efforts.

Campaign Progress Update

Due to your generosity, we have already $589,890.42 to date or 48% of our $1.2 million goal! This accomplishment would not have been possible without your help. Individuals like you give our community a bright future! Check out the chart below to see how your District contributed to our Council success!