We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

#woodshop

Celebrating Our 2000th Pinewood Derby Car!

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On December 10, Caleb, a new Cub Scout with Pack 126 attended a Pack Pinewood Derby Session and earned the “distinct privilege and high honor” of creating the 2000th pinewood derby car in Michael’s Woodshop! Caleb’s Cubmaster describes him as an enthusiastic Cub Scout who is a friend to all and who has thoroughly enjoyed the Pack activities. These qualities were on full display as he crafted his car in Michael’s Woodshop. To commemorate the occasion, Caleb was presented with a special Pinewood Derby Car display stand with a 2000th Car inscription. Please join us in wishing Caleb the best of luck in his races, but in our book, he is already a winner!

Michael’s Woodshop is in the midst of its 6th Annual Pinewood Derby Days season. 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. In addition to supporting summer camp and other camp events, Michael’s Woodshop offers great Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It workshops for Cub Scouts and monthly Woodwork Merit Badge classes for Scouts. The shop is also a great venue for hosting Eagle Scout projects and can be reserved for many other unit activities.

The activities in Michael’s Woodshop are made possible by a dedicated group of adult and youth volunteers. Due to the popularity of Michael’s Woodshop, volunteers are in the process of expanding the shop to provide space to host even more youth activities. To support the additional activities, we are seeking additional volunteers to join the team. Roles are available for adults and youth, from novice to experienced skill levels. Please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage for more information about volunteering, 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

Upcoming Events at NCAC Camps

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Looking for fun activities to fill those fall weekends? Mark your calendar for a weekend of family fun, service to your favorite camp, or training.

Fall Family Camps at Camp Snyder

Weekend I: October 20-22, 2023
Weekend II: November 17-19,2023
Sign up for a weekend of fall fun for all ages! Shoot BBs or arrows, climb the Scouterhorn climbing tower, create your own handicraft, build something in the Woodshop, or participate in many other hands-on activities.

More information and registration can be found here: www.gotosnyder.org/year-round-events/cub-scout-expo/

Volunteer Work Weekend at Goshen Scout Reservation

September 22-24, 2023
Units and volunteers are invited for a fall work weekend to assist in camp beautification! Open to members of the scouting community, participants will assist in painting, brush clearing, and other beautification tasks.

More information and registration can be found here: www.gotogoshen.org/vww

GSAA Service Weekend at Goshen Scout Reservation

October 13-15, 2023
Goshen Scout Reservation Staff Alumni are invited by the Goshen Staff Alumni Association (GSAA) for a fall work weekend! Open to staff alumni from any Goshen camp and any friends or family who want to help out, ages 18 and up. We’ll be fixing, painting, building, maintaining, and doing other such work on many projects around the Reservation. Meet other staff alumni new and old, spend some time at Goshen, and help us prepare for the next season of summer camp!

More information and registration can be found here: www.gotogoshen.org/gsaasw

Spooktakular Fall Festival at Camp William B. Snyder

October 27-29, 2023
Join us for a frightfully fun weekend at our Spooktacular Fall Festival. Go on a hayride, take part in the Zombie Run, shoot arrows at Archery, explore some STEM activities, and celebrate fall with food and crafts.

More information and registration can be found here: scoutingevent.com/082-70773

Other Events

Sawdust Saturdays

Support Camp William B. Snyder’s summer and year-round programs by volunteering! Service days run from 9am to 1pm and projects include carpentry and painting among others. Learn more at www.gotosnyder.org/work-volunteer/service-days/

Michael’s Woodshop

There’s always something happening at Michael’s Woodshop! Events this fall include Pinewood Derby Days, Woodwork Merit Badge Classes, and Baloo the Builder sessions. Learn more at www.gotosnyder.org/rentals/michaels-wood-shop

OPI Wilderness First Aid Training

Get trained for your 2024 high adventure with NCAC’s Outdoor Preparedness Initiative! Whether you are planning a trip to a National High Adventure, our local Lenhok’sin High Adventure, or designing your own expedition, this is a must have training. Certification is offered through the American Red Cross and fall sessions are open for registration. Learn more at www.ncacbsa.org/opi-wfa

Michael’s Woodshop Recognizes Distinguished Volunteers

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Pictured: CJ Staton (left) & Mell Cunningham (right)

On May 7, Michael’s Woodshop presented the Distinguished Volunteer Award to volunteers CJ Staton and Mell Cunningham in recognition of their “many years of consistent and dedicated contributions of time and talent to the development and operation of Michael’s Woodshop”.

CJ began volunteering in the fall of 2017, when Michael’s Woodshop was still in the concept phase. He was engaged in the initial planning and construction, helping with the installation of the insulation and walls, running conduit, pulling hundreds of feet of wire and installing dozens and dozens of receptacles throughout the shop. He is a regular volunteer during program sessions and is in the process of upgrading our jigs and templates using his 3D printer. Among his most notable and valuable contributions has been the development of many of our most successful programs; Pinewood Derby Days, Baloo the Builder, Webelos Build It and our Youth Assistant Program, which he continues to lead today.

Mell began volunteering in the spring of 2018, assisting with the completion of the lumber rack, the first major improvement in Michael’s Woodshop. For the next 7 months, Mell volunteered on an almost full-time basis completing the interior improvements including all of the work benches, shelving, tool storage systems and the dust collection system. After the shop officially opened in November 2018 (and continuing today), Mell has consistently spent several mornings a week in the shop working on numerous shop improvements and preparing materials for youth activities. He is a prolific “jig maker”, designing and constructing jigs to support youth activities and is currently developing our third summer camp project design (including project prototypes, jigs and evaluating process flow).

Please join us in recognizing CJ and Mell for their incredible contributions to Michael’s Woodshop. If you are interested in volunteering, please see “Join the Michael’s Woodshop Team” on our webpage, or email any questions to MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com.

STEM Scouts have a Blast in the Woodshop!

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Have you ever heard of BlastCars?

They have been around for years as Scouts BSA programs, and sometimes dubbed the “older kid Pinewood Derby Cars”. The real difference? Their dimensions are a bit larger and above all they are powered by a C02 cartridge! Today, middle STEM Scouts have a 4 meeting module, where they experiment with building and racing Blastcars! Youth discover what friction is and how it affects the performance of a car, and learn about propulsion, acceleration and deceleration, and rocket-powered vehicles.

Lab Manager Ms. Pekarik (of paired Elementary Lab 9941) assists a scout.

To do all this, the scouts need to build cars – many, and each with variables tweaked. Sure, they could build cars with hand-tools, but NCAC’s STEM Lab 991 was lucky enough to build their cars under the expertise of Michael’s Woodshop volunteers!

 

Visit to Michael’s Woodshop

Michael’s Woodshop is a volunteer run woodshop for scouts at Camp Snyder in Haymarket, VA. Over the last 5 years, Michael’s Woodshop has assisted 250+ Bears in completing Baloo the Builder, 50+ Woodwork Merit Badges, and 1000+ Pinewood Derby Cars!

On October 30, seven STEM Scouts from Lab 991 visited Michael’s Woodshop at Camp Snyder for a Blastcar Build Day! Mr. Dave Schneeman, Woodshop Steward, led the group through a safety briefing, followed by stations to cut the cars according to the scouts’ designs, and sand the cars for finer finish.

After 1000+ Pinewood Derby cars, Michael’s Woodshop has perfected a build process. The Blastcar build was only slightly different. Scouts had to ensure that designs do not intersect with the drilled holes for the Co2 cartridges. Additionally, while PWD cars’ starting gates release at the front of each car, Blastcars are lined up against the rear (where the cartridges are!)

The Woodshop machinery as well as Mr. Dave’s expertise made for an incredible experience. Sure, scouts could design blast cars with hand tools. In fact, 2 weeks before the scouts’ woodshop visit, they practiced using hand tools. This juxtaposition led to a greater appreciation of the Woodshop opportunity, and the professional cars they got to design!

Lab Manager Mr. Scheina hands out blastcar kits.

Lab Manager of STEM Lab 991, Jon Scheina shared, “Building the cars at the woodshop was awesome. Every Scout I asked said that this activity was the highlight of the module. In the future, any labs that are fortunate enough to have access to a professional woodshop should absolutely use it to build their cars–both for the experience and for the opportunity to build more precise, well-functioning cars.”

Join the Woodshop Team

All of the activities in Michael’s Woodshop are designed and supervised by a dedicated group of volunteers. There are volunteer roles available for experienced woodworkers, and both adult and youth assistants. For more information about becoming a volunteer, please see Join the Woodshop Team or email us for additional information.

For more information about the merit badge classes, shop capabilities, upcoming events or reserving the shop, please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage. If you have questions or would like additional information, please email us at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com

Important Thank Yous

Special thanks to:

  • Justin Youtz (T501) and Bruce Donlin (T1853) for sharing Blastcar kits (and tricks) with NCAC’s STEM Labs!
  • Dave Schneeman (Michael’s Woodshop Steward) for volunteering to lead the shop session
  • Jon Scheina, Mark Gray, Burt Wagner, Stacy Pekarik (Lab 991 Lab Manager and Associate Lab Leaders) for leading the inaugural Blastcars module!

 

250th Bear Completes Baloo the Builder Adventure

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On November 5th, Bears from Pack 1160 completed their Baloo the Builder Adventure in Michael’s Woodshop. They learned about useful tools to have in their boxes and practiced using a number of tools including clamps, sanding blocks, hammers and nail punches. They made a golf tee game board as their “fun project” and after sanding, they applied a clear polyurethane finish. Finally, as their “useful project”, each Bear made their very own tool box. It was a couple of hours very well spent and not only did these Bears learn a few things and have some fun, they also earned the distinction of having among their Den the 250th Bear to complete the Baloo the Builder Adventure in Michael’s Woodshop!

Since introducing the Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It Workshops, they have quickly become two of the most popular activities in the shop. These workshops are both great, hands-on activities that are fun, learning experiences for the Cub Scouts.

To learn more about these workshops and the many other shop activities available, please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage. Start planning now to schedule an activity for your unit in the spring.

All of the activities in Michael’s Woodshop are designed and supervised by a dedicated group of volunteers. With the high demand for woodshop activities, we are seeking additional volunteers to join the Woodshop Team. There are roles available for experienced woodworkers, Woodwork Merit Badge Counselors and both adult and youth assistants. For more information about becoming a volunteer, please see Join the Woodshop Team or email us for additional information.

For more information about the merit badge classes, shop capabilities, upcoming events or reserving the shop, please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage. If you have questions or would like additional information, please email us at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com

A Scout is…Creative!

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Scout creativity was on full display in Michael’s Woodshop during Camp William B. Snyder’s second annual Scout Specialty Week. Among the wide variety of merit badge offerings, Michael’s Woodshop offered the Woodwork Merit Badge, a challenging merit badge requiring extended sessions throughout the week. Scouts learned about lumber, shop safety, first aid and tool sharpening. To demonstrate the use of different tools, cuts and joints, Scouts created three projects including a toolbox, a wooden mallet and a cell phone stand. The real fun began when they designed and built their own projects. The results were amazing!

The classes during the merit badge week were led by a group of highly skilled woodshop volunteers. It was a very successful week with 15 Woodwork Merit Badges earned! To see more of the fun activities during the week, go to the Woodshop Activity Slideshows section of our webpage where you can view our latest addition Scout Specialty Week 2022.

Michael’s Woodshop operates year-round and is a great venue for Scouts of all ages to create and learn. We are able to offer Woodwork Merit Badge classes and many other programs through the time, talent and hard work of our dedicated volunteers.

If you enjoy being in a wood shop and like to teach and guide youth, please consider joining the Michael’s Woodshop Team. There are roles available for both adult and youth volunteers; from novices to experienced woodworkers. It is a truly rewarding role.

Please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage for more information about volunteering, 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