Supernova

I don’t think I ever truly knew what STEM really was until I discovered NOVA awards and did my first one. It was much more difficult than I expected, taking a lot of time, energy, and creativity. The more I worked on it, the more I learned and became interested in the world of STEM. Specifically I loved the aerospace and engineering parts of it, having watched several rocket launches for activities and building a fan powered car out of a gatorade bottle and some bottle caps. After completing four of these NOVA awards, I set my sights on the biggest challenge yet – the Supernova.

It took months to complete all of the requirements and challenges for this award, but even though at times I wanted to drop it all together, I pushed through. My favorite activities were the coding project I did, shadowing a heliophysicist, and teaching cub scouts how to make a fan powered car. Especially during the shadowing, I learned so much about what it’s like to work at NASA, and so much on recent projects and interesting things happening in the world of engineering right now.

When I finished my first Supernova award, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue and do another one. But with spare time on my hands, and a growing interest in STEM I began it. My favorite activities were creating the Electroscope for the nuclear science merit badge, running a meeting with different science experiments, and writing an essay on the history of nuclear power.

I think the Thomas Edison Supernova opened the door to my interest in nuclear sciences, beginning with the all day merit badge course which I really enjoyed – going in depth on atoms and fission which I found particularly interesting. While doing the essay on nuclear power I felt myself getting really intrigued with each piece of information I found, causing me to write out the 1,500 words in only an hour. Everything about it made me nervous, how such tiny things could explode cities and have so much power, but it also excited me to think that was possible.

After completing it I was really proud, but also very glad for all the opportunities it provided me with. I got to meet some fantastic people, and learn a lot about myself and the STEM world.

Sydney is pictured above (right) along with Lauren (left) who also earned the Edison Supernova, and Mr. Bruce Donlin (center), the Supernova Mentor for both scouts. As Sydney and Lauren display their Supernova medals, Mr. Donlin displays the Silver Pyramid, a STEM Award he was presented for creating a Council-wide, large scale, sustainable STEM event!

Hello, I am Lauren Nank, and I am the first woman in NCAC to earn the Thomas Edison Supernova award. I joined GT1853 right before COVID put us all into lockdown. During that time, I was introduced to the multitude of STEM opportunities in scouts. It started with the Nova awards. A Nova award is a project-based activity, and each award covers one area of STEM. I completed Let it Grow, Splash, and Mendel’s Minions. Let it Grow, taught me how we get our food, how it is processed, and a lot about food science all around the world. When I was completing the Mammal Study merit badge for the Nova award, one of the requirements was doing a project that would benefit a mammal. I decided to build a bat box. A bat box helps bats sleep and mate safely. Now, one problem was my mom was afraid of bats; but I had the opportunity to go to someone’s farm and place the bat box there. Adding on, the owner took me on a tour of the farm as well!

After, I completed the Splash Nova award. I learned about water use, consumption, and how water gets recycled for use again at water treatment plants. Lastly, I earned Mendel’s Minions nova award. I had been interested in genealogy at the time, so it was the perfect choice for me. I learned how to extract DNA from a strawberry with just at-home ingredients, as well as create a 3D model of DNA. Who knew you can extract DNA at home? From there, I thought Nova awards were all I could do, but that wasn’t the case. With a friend of mine, together we completed the Bernard Harris Supernova Award. A Supernova, in basic terms, is a small STEM eagle project. This Supernova taught me leadership, communication, and self-discipline. My favorite thing I did during the Supernova is interviewing and shadowing a NASA Helio physicist. I learned a tremendous amount about work at NASA, what’s next for NASA, and the work environment for women. After the shadowing, I interviewed a woman in a neighboring program; and she shared with me about the lack of women around her when she first joined. Luckily, as time went on more and more women have been getting into STEM and changing the world with it.

Immediately after I started the Thomas Edison Supernova award. I started by completing the “Shoot!” Nova award. I learned about projectiles, aviation, and astronomy. One of the requirements was making a marshmallow catapult and doing a scientific experiment. While measuring the angle and distance projected. I enjoyed using the information I learned about the scientific investigation in school in real life, and of course eating a bunch of marshmallows.
After completing the Nova award, I started two STEM-related activities. I made a precipitate with Ammonia and Copper Sulfate. The activities require you to do write-ups that include preparation and research, then reflection after you’ve finished. My precipitate experiment went extremely well. I had done it before in school, and when I did it at home, I knew exactly what to do. It was fascinating to see how when the ammonia is dropped into the Copper sulfate, it turns into small flakes.

My math experiment was planting seeds and seeing if enzymes affect the growth of plants. I learned in science class that enzymes speed up chemical reactions, and plants use a chemical reaction to create food called photosynthesis. Each week, I measured the height of the seed and by the end, my hypothesis was proven true! Honestly, going into the experiment I just went off of background knowledge, and it was rewarding to see it was successful.
One of the other requirements is to complete a STEM fair, competition, or workshop. I decided to do a Nuclear Science workshop. One of the coolest things during the workshop was seeing both beta and alpha beta particles. Before, I didn’t even know the slightest thing about beta particles, cosmic radiation, and radiation found in food! This workshop allowed me to add to my knowledge about atoms and extend it further on how it relates to nuclear science.
Lastly, you have to present a Nova award or STEM activity to your troop or Cub pack. My friend and I organized a meeting where we made color-changing slime and a Carbon Sugar Snake. We led scouts through both activities, and both were very different from each other. We ran into a few roadblocks with the slime, but from a different perspective, it all went incredibly well. I was proud of the results, and the positivity on everyone’s faces.

All of these awards, merit badges, and experiences not only taught me more about STEM, but how the world works, discipline, leadership, and communication online and in – person. I learned that with being open – minded new experiences could come through. Even when you feel like things aren’t progressing, everything will turn out alright in the end. I encourage everyone to get involved in STEM in your troop, or anywhere around you. I guarantee you will learn something new, or you will meet and experience new possibilities.

Cub Scout Pack 278 is proud to award its 3rd Dr. Luis W. Alvarez Supernova Award to Fiona H. Fiona joined the pack as a Wolf when she became the first girl registered in Pack 278.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, the Leaders of Pack 278 took on the task of becoming a Family Pack that serves all youth in the Middletown Valley. Fiona watched her older brother learn important life skills while having fun since she was 3 years old. Today, at 9 years old, she has earned her Bear Rank and successfully completed the Alvarez Supernova requirements.

The Dr. Luis W. Alvarez Supernova honors Dr. Alvarez’s many achievements. While working on the Alvarez Supernova, Fiona was challenged to research 3 different scientists and innovators. Fiona chose to research the lives of Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and Mary Anning. These three women forged ahead in their scientific fields despite many telling them that scientific discovery was not the role of women. Fiona continued to learn about women scientists by interviewing Jennifer Karschner, a Forensic Specialist working for the Montgomery County Police Department. During this interview, Fiona learned that a simple love of puzzles and helping people combined with “lots of school” can be a recipe for a successful career in Science.

Fiona pursued her interest in science by completing a science experiment investigating the result of placing chicken bones in vinegar and other liquids. Along with learning about acids and bases, she discovered that science can be cool and gross at the same time. Finally, Fiona spoke with her Den Leader about why learning science and math is important in education. Fiona learned that science is in everything that we do, from building fires to baking cookies. Understanding why the recipe works is the first step in creating your own.

On May 29, 2021, Robert El-Hage was awarded the Dr. Luis Alvarez Supernova Award by Mr. Randy Young, Sully District Unit Commissioner, at Pack 717’s Blue & Gold event. Robert is a Bear in Cub Scout Pack 717, chartered by St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Clifton Virginia, where he is a 3rd Grader at the church’s school. Robert started off as a Cub Scout in the Lion pilot program as a kindergartener. He was quickly inspired by Mr. Young to work on Cub Scout Awards that are not earned very often. Robert first earned the International Spirit Award after expressing his interest in ham radio during the Jamboree-on-the-Air at Camp Snyder. This accomplishment led Robert to discover the Nova program.

To receive the Supernova Award, a Scout first must earn a certain number of Nova awards. He earned four Nova awards: Down and Dirty, Fearful Symmetry, Out of this World, and Up and Away. His favorite Nova was Down and Dirty because he got to make a Papier Mache volcano. He also enjoyed earning the Out of this World award which is all about astronomy. To earn this, Robert watched astronomy videos, participated in a two hour Zoom meeting hosted by the NCAC STEM Committee, and did some cool crafts. After completing this Nova award, Robert was inspired to become an astronomer.

Even after completing these Nova awards, Robert was determined to achieve the Supernova award. He wanted to earn a medal that meant something to him. Robert was mentored by Dr. Hatcher Tynes, who is the Sully District STEM Coordinator. For his scientific method demonstration he created “volcano snow”, experimenting so he could create the right consistency of “snow”. It took him six months to earn his Supernova. If Robert could describe his overall experience in three words it would be “hard, interesting,” and (most importantly) “fun.”

Article authored by Supernova recipient’s big sister, Kiernan El-Hage, SPL Troop 1137G.