Sometimes, a Scout earns a merit badge and discovers a new hobby. But every so often, the opposite happens: The hobby comes first, and the Scout discovers there’s a merit badge to match. During her freshman year at Fremd High School in Palatine, Ill., Abby Pollpeter registered for an elective that sounded interesting: Intro to …

Inspired by a class at school, twins travel 12 hours to earn Woodwork merit badge Read More »

At the Middle Tennessee Council’s Boxwell Reservation, Scouts learn to shoot a bow and arrow, swim, and survive in the wilderness. Starting next summer, thanks to some generous donors and forward-thinking Scouters, they’ll also learn to fix a leaky faucet, paint a house and change a car’s oil. Those essential life lessons will be delivered inside a new …

Scout camp’s new Skilled Trades Center will introduce young people to in-demand fields Read More »

As instructional YouTube videos go, it isn’t the fanciest. There are no slick graphics, fancy transitions or endless calls to “smash that subscribe button.” Instead of frenetic, this host is patient as he takes viewers through an 8-minute overview of three basic canoeing strokes: the sweep, the power stroke and the J-stroke. But what this …

Retired BSA professional’s second act: A YouTube channel teaching outdoor skills Read More »

If you’ve attended summer camp with your unit, you’ve probably had to help Scouts who couldn’t find their merit badge class sites or had trouble getting from one site to another in time. The staff at Camp Barstow in Batesburg, S.C., came up with a solution. Camp director Jason Spangler and program director Chris McDuffie implemented a …

Camp Barstow’s bundle system keeps Scouts learning at summer camp Read More »

It’s heard at somber moments, like the anniversary of 9/11, a funeral for a fallen firefighter or a memorial to soldiers killed in the line of duty. It’s heard in happier times, too, like Independence Day, Constitution Day and Eagle Scout courts of honor. All across the Old North State Council in North Carolina, the Honor …

Troops and ships in this council use an Honor Bell to salute people and events Read More »