Steve Fox’s list of roles and responsibilities in Scouting spans five decades. From his boyhood home in Maryland, to college in Indiana and Illinois, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, and during eight tours of duty with the Foreign Service in East and South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa Scouting has continued to […]
Program Methods
Citizen Science For Scouts
Scouts can join scientific collaborations in nearly any field of study through an amazing number of citizen science opportunities. Citizen science projects can make for engaging patrol or troop activities, and may even tie into merit badges Scouts are working on individually (they should make their counsellor aware of these opportunities). SciStarter.com is a great place to begin: SciStarter […]
Snowball Battle Royal!
Is it possible to have a snowball battle without hitting anyone with a snowball? We tried this game out a short time ago; it was loads of fun and nobody was hit with a snowball. In this game the target is not other people, but a snow shovel, and the last snow shovel standing wins! […]
Heaving Bar Scouting Game Infographic
This is probably my all-time favorite Scouting game! The heaving bar is a race to throw rope over the bar, secure it to a peg driven into the ground with a clove hitch, tie a log to the other end of the rope with a timber hitch and then lift the log off the ground […]
Why do Scouts Play Games?
Scouting is a game, not a science. – Baden-Powell Games suffer from a bad reputation. Why have Scouts play games? What about some serious learning? Aren’t games just fillers? Are they a waste of time? Fun has a bad reputation too; many adults think that learning is a rigorous, difficult, serious endeavor. After all we want […]
Nelson Mandela – Patron of Scouting, Messenger of Peace
“The international Scout movement is a world leader in youth education, and has particular relevance to the needs of youth in Africa and the emerging democracies around the globe. I am pleased with the progress of Scouting in South Africa, and in the steps which are now being taken to make the programme accessible to […]
Rediscovered Games for Scouts
Here’s a guest post featuring four great rediscovered games for Scouts from Enoch Heise. Enoch’s blog Scouting Rediscovered should be on your reading list. Enoch has loads of enthusiasm and practical information on getting to the heart of Scouting from the perspective of a young (18 years old) Eagle Scout. Listen to a discussion with Enoch on Podcast […]
November ScoutCircle – Webelos to Scouts
Here’s this month’s ScoutCircle, a solo appearance! Here’s the resources we discussed The New Parents Quick Guide Webelos_to_Scout – BSA information webelos-to-scout-transition-plan-1 Heart of America Council WebToScout Webelos to Scout Transition: A Parents’ Guide
What Would You Do? Wilderness Emergencies
Most wilderness emergencies are avoidable, but, if you spend enough time in the outdoors, one will likely come your way. What will you do? Studying scenarios and reports is a one way to sharpen your outdoor leadership skills. Canoe guru Kevin Callan is the author of 11 books, including the Paddler’s Guide series and The […]
What do Cub Scouts Really Think?
Here’s a hilarious, yet touching, Cub Scouts promotional video produced by the UK Scouts Association. The Scouts Association offers Scout mini figure T-shirts The Cub Scout mini figures themselves are available from Minifgs Me There’s an Eagle Scout minifig listed on eBay
Permanent On-Line World Jamboree
If you haven’t visited Scout.org (the website of The World Organization of the Scouting Movement, WOSM) in a while you are in for a big surprise! For the last ten months we have been reviewing and analysing feedback from our readers, which resulted in the developing of an innovative concept for our Movement’s web presence”, […]
Afghan Scouts Good Turn
This report of an impressive good turn performed by Afghan Scouts was filed by the WOSM today Scouts and leaders under PARSA, a non-government organization operating in orphanages in Afghanistan, did their good turn as they helped residents of Sarobi District, in Kabul Province, which is worst-hit by the flooding August this year. When Scout executives […]
UK Scouts Announce Alternative Scout Promise
From The Scout Association (UK) website: The Scout Association (TSA) has launched an additional alternative version to the core Scout Promise in order to officially welcome atheists into the Movement. Following an extensive 10-month consultation process within and outside of the Movement, TSA has introduced an additional alternative version of the Scout Promise that can […]
Ruan’s Rhino Pioneering Sculpture
This pioneering sculpture was created by a Scout named Ruan from 1st Horison, a Scout group on the West Rand near Johannesburg in South Africa (map below). Ruan is working towards Springbok Scout – the highest rank in Scouts South Africa, like our Eagle Scout. One of the requirements for Springbok is a construction project (there’s also […]
The Relevance of Scouting
Whenever two or three Scouters get together talk eventually turns to the relevance of Scouting in ‘modern society’. Some think we’ve diminished the ideals of ‘manliness’ , traditional patriotism, bootstrap initiative, competitiveness and rigor in achievement but have they really examined what those ideas actually mean? Scouting does not consider that these things are scarce, […]
Electric Fence for Bear Country
UDAP, the folks that make pepper spray for fending off bears, also offer (of all things) an electric fence as an alternative to hanging food in bear country. Powered by 4 D -cell and 4 AA batteries the fence packs a 7600 volt punch into a 9 pound package. Looks like a viable alternative for […]
3M Ultrathon
What’s a good place to test insect repellent? How about 25 Scouts canoeing their way through a buggy week in Ontario, Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park? In mid August we don’t usually run into too many mosquitoes and the black fly season is long over. This was a wet summer and we encountered more mosquitoes that […]
Boy Scout Neckerchiefs
Boy Scout neckerchiefs have been with us since Baden Powell published Scouting for Boys: The Scout Uniform is very like the uniform worn by my men when I commanded the South African Constabulary. They knew what was comfortable, serviceable, and a good protection against the weather. So Scouts have much the same uniform. … … […]
Scout Neckerchiefs and Uniforms
A belated happy World Scarf Day! Scout neckerchiefs are the only unique element of the Scout uniform, I don’t know of any other uniformed group that wears neckerchiefs other than Scouts. As our group prepared for our trip to Switzerland in 2011 our Scouts first asked if they needed to bring their uniforms. I told […]
Scouting Returns to Myanmar
During a State visit to Canberra, Australia the President of Myanmar Thein Sein expressed the desire to successfully re-establish Scouting in his country (It was banned by the former government in 1964). Chief Commissioner of Scouts Australia Reg Williams communicated this message to the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM). Soon thereafter a delegation of WOSM […]
How to Avoid Wilderness Rescue
I am sure that the wilderness rescue volunteers and professionals in Ontario are the nicest people you could ever meet, but I’d like to avoid them. Well, at least in their capacity as SAR (search and rescue) folks. Here’s a recent article from Ontario Parks that shares eight tip[s to avoiding wilderness rescue taht should […]
Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe
Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe is a perfect game for a rainy day under the tarp, or an evening lazing around camp. All you need is a clear patch of dirt and a stick, or a paper and pencil. As you may have discovered yourself, tic-tac-toe is terminally dull. There’s no room for creativity or insight. Good players always […]
A Visit with Green Bar Bill
A fascinating video artifact found at author Win Davis’s website In April of 1987, Bill Hillcourt came to Central Florida. He visited for an evening with Scouts and leaders from Boy Scout Troop 46 in Longwood. What he had to say is pretty interesting. The Boy Scouts of America was still recovering from decisions made […]
Six Online Training Courses Every Scouter Should Take
In addition to the program-oriented courses offered through MyScouting.org completing these six online training courses are a worthwhile way for any Scouter to improve their safety IQ. As a young Scoutmaster I felt a lot of these things were limitations, but now I don’t see these safety practices as restrictive. Quite to the contrary I […]
