Slowly, the Boy Scouts have developed into a real training ground for budding scientists and engineers. Of the 126 current merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America, 31 of them fit under the STEM umbrella. But it’s the newest badge that is generating a lot of interest. This week, the BSA introduced the robotics merit badge, an ambitious set of requirements that really explores robotics as both a hobby and a career.

from Wired

We hope it helps.

Thank you to Mr. Hadden for providing.

Among the newer awards available to Tigers, Cubs or Webelos is the belt loop for Video Games. Yep, you read that correctly.

Of course the games must be approved and played with an adult.

Foxfire and Buckskin graduation was Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010. Congratulations to the following Scouts:

Foxfire Mountain Men: Robert & Alec

Buckskin Men: Chase, Taylor, Dalton, Aiden, David, Killian, Chester, & Jack.

I think the answer lies in the last paragraph.

I asked some of my friends from my Scouting experience if they still believed in the Boy Scouts’ mission. “Kids are surrounded by plenty of opportunities to make the wrong decisions; to experience the negative. Scouting stacks the deck for a positive experience - adults who are interested in providing kids a safe environment to learn and have fun, exposure to new things, to the outdoors & hopefully a set of experiences that they’ll use for the rest of their lives whether that manifests itself in good friends, valuable skills, a first shot at leading a team or just a good memory or two,” says Troy Trybom, an Eagle Scout and father in Stilwell, Kansas. “Probably most important to me was that my Dad was there with through my entire time in Scouting. We spoke about and reminisced about Scouts until the day he passed away. I wouldn’t trade my time & memories of scouting for anything.”

A better case for relevancy is difficult to make.

Be sure to read the whole article. It’s quite good.

TWO Course Dates in 2010: (Online registration and flyers will be available soon throught the Council website)

The dates are: June 13 - 19, 2010 and August 8 - 14, 2010

New name, new program. But the mission is still the same: Give motivated Scouts the training to become effective leaders in their troops. The council’s premier youth leader training course undergoes an extreme make-over with a new program from the Boy Scouts of America. Buckskin National Youth Leadership Training Course is an intense seven-day leadership training experience for youths. The course models a month in the life of a troop all leading up to a big outdoor experience (an overnight outpost camp). The course uses the patrol method. Patrols are challenged early in the week to present to the troop at the end of the week their “Quest for the Meaning of Leadership.” While the challenge is designed to have them go through the four stages of team development, it will help patrols and individual Scouts internalize the leadership skills and concepts being presented to them along the way. The focus of each session is not only knowledge but giving the youth a “Toolbox of Skills” that equips them with the “how.” To be eligible for this course Scouts must:

• Hold at least First Class rank
• Be 13 years old by the start of the course
• Hold or will hold a leadership position in the troop
• Have experienced a weeklong Boy Scout campout
• Have Scoutmaster’s recommendation
• Have attended Cedar Badge
• Be mature to properly experience the intense training

Foxfire will take what a Scout learned at Buckskin and bring it to a whole new level. Building on the skills learned at Buckskin, Scouts will work as a Crew to complete many challenges put before them, including Dutch Oven Cooking, Tomahawk Throwing, Black Powder Rifle Shooting, Forging, and other team building games and activities. Beyond developing a better understanding of the Leadership skills taught at Buckskin, Scouts will gain knowledge that will help them in the “real world” including resume writing and interview skills. Scouts that have completed Foxfire are sought after for positions on camp and event staffs due to Foxfire’s emphasis on Staff Development. Foxfire is a unique experience that should be the goal of any youth in our Council.

Requirements to Attend: To attend Foxfire, a youth must be 14 years old, have completed their Buckskin Commitment (or Ticket), and have completed Star rank. There is only one course of Foxfire available, so sign up early.