Scouting Magazine

“Scouters in Action” subjects come from the National BSA Court of Honor. If you know of an act of heroism that should be recognized, contact your local BSA council office for a lifesaving or meritorious award application. Note: Consult approved safety...

Camp Don Harrington, Golden Spread Council, Canyon, Texas Set along a fork in the Red River, Camp Don Harrington offers views of the impressive Palo Duro Canyon as Scouts hike to different activity stations. Established as a BSA camp in 1945, the 1,600-acre property...

I love knots. There’s magic in taking a piece of rope and, with a few bends and turns, creating a remarkable structure that is as useful as it is attractive. I’m also delighted to know that people sitting around campfires thousands of years ago taught...

You’ve mastered the gold standard of Dutch oven cooking: the legendary cake-topped peach cobbler. As delicious as it is, though, the dessert delivers a ton of sugar in every bite, most of it from high fructose corn syrup. You can do better. Dutch oven meals...

If St. Louis were building its famed Gateway Arch today, it might have trouble finding enough skilled tradespeople to finish the job. According to the State of the St. Louis Workforce 2017 report, nearly 60% of companies that hire workers in the skilled trades say...

Scouting is a year-round activity. Though the temperatures rise as we enter summer, we still take Scouts outdoors. Hiking, biking, camping … these are all popular summer outings. But there’s one warm-weather activity that rules them all: aquatics. If you...

On the surface, it all seemed so seamless: one Scout troop, split into three crews based on experience level, cruising through miles and miles of the backcountry of Yosemite National Park. As the Scouts and adults from Troop 65 in Morgantown, W.Va., soaked in the...

The National Summertime Pack Award program features all sorts of prizes. There’s a streamer for the pack flag if the pack holds an activity during each summer month. There’s a streamer for the den flag if the den gets at least half its members to each of...

To earn a merit badge, a young person must work with a registered merit badge counselor. Here are some frequently asked questions about these important adult volunteers. What are the requirements to be a merit badge counselor? Counselors must be men or women of good...

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. The words might have changed some over the past 110 years, but the meaning of...

Olivia Goodreau was 6 when she was bitten by a tick. She has been living with Lyme disease ever since. Now 15, she wants people to know they could be just one bite away from getting the disease themselves. Olivia is the founder of the LivLyme Foundation, a nonprofit...

Growing up in rural Arkansas, T.W. Cook spent only a year in Cub Scouting. But adult involvement was pretty much inevitable once he joined a Scouting family — his father-in-law, Verl Underwood, was a 70-year veteran — and had two sons. Cook served as...

How hard can it be to pick a daypack? Spend a few minutes in an outdoor gear shop; with the wide variety of sizes, shapes, designs, weights and prices available, it might seem more complicated than you thought. We’ll help you decide what type of daypack you need...

“Scouters in Action” subjects come from the National BSA Court of Honor. If you know of an act of heroism that should be recognized, contact your local BSA council office for a lifesaving or meritorious award application. Note: Consult approved safety...

Owasippe offers two camps for Scouts BSA members: Camp Blackhawk has a traditional dining hall, while Camp Wolverine offers hot meals delivered to your campsite — along with the option of dining in a central pavilion. If family camping is your thing, Camp...

When the giant Magellan Telescope opens sometime in the next decade, it will be 10 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope. But you don’t need billion-dollar equipment to introduce your Scouts to astronomy, according to veteran merit badge counselor...

It was the sort of phone call every Cub Scout leader dreads. Mark Beard, the principal of Stone Lake Elementary School, was on the line, calling to notify Robert Rhymes, Pack 255’s committee chair, that someone at the pack’s last meeting had evidently...

Youth Protection policies are central to the BSA’s commitment to keep our members safe. Every adult volunteer must complete Youth Protection Training when they register and must retake the training every two years. Youth and adult handbooks also provide...

It can be unsettling when you’re driving through 3 million acres of North Carolina mountain wilderness, and a nine-story radio telescope suddenly looms up above the treetops. The massive structure, with its 85-foot dish, is one of four radio telescopes, two...

Fishing is one of the best things you can do with your Cub Scout pack, Scouts BSA unit, Venturing crew or Sea Scout ship. It gets kids away from their screens. It gets them outdoors. And it gives them opportunities for advancement. At the same time, it doesn’t...

Dallas Wells was ready to give up. After backpacking, canoeing and cycling 67 miles over the past week, the 13-year-old Scout, along with the other members of Troop 141 from Christiansburg, Va., had to get up at 4 a.m. to pedal another 38 miles into Washington, D.C....

Much of Scouting occurs in the outdoors, where we are the visitors and the animals and insects are perfectly at home. A squirrel, raccoon or other creature might be completely comfortable and healthy hanging out in the same area as bugs and other critters. Humans? Not...

Camp Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan, Northeast Illinois Council, Pearson, Wis. Last summer, a severe thunderstorm hit Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan Scout Reservation, shearing off trees, uprooting tents and sending branches crashing into buildings. Thanks to the help of devoted volunteers, the camp...

Quit tripping over stones, tent guylines or your own feet when trying to walk around camp in the dark. Turn to some reliable camp lighting, which basically falls into two categories: Lanterns, flashlights and other lights for drive-in campgrounds, when weight and bulk...

“Scouters in Action” subjects come from the National BSA Court of Honor. If you know of an act of heroism that should be recognized, contact your local BSA council office for a lifesaving or meritorious award application. Note: Consult approved safety guidelines, as...

As she drove the girls in her new Scouts BSA troop to a campout last spring, Heather O’Bannon heard plenty of stories of family distress and dysfunction. “I’m sitting there going, ‘Wow, Family Life merit badge is going to be really interesting,’ ” the Hilliard, Ohio,...

Fort Leavenworth, Kan., is home to 14,000 people, three elementary schools and just one Cub Scout pack. Pack 1 isn’t just any pack, however. It’s one of the oldest packs west of the Mississippi, and it serves more than 150 boys and girls who attend the U.S. Army...

Since kids don’t grow up overnight, it can sometimes be hard to tell from week to week how much of a difference you’re making as a Scouting volunteer. The BSA’s training awards and keys can help you track your progress and help you be more successful. WHAT IS A...

This is Philmont Scout Ranch. On any given summer day, there are around 3,500 Scouts BSA members and Venturers somewhere in the 220 square miles of pristine New Mexico backcountry exploring the wilderness, testing themselves both physically and mentally, and in the...

The Boy Scouts of America’s publications, policies, procedures, guidelines, rules and regulations are designed to provide a safe and consistent program for Scouts across the country. Trustworthy adult volunteer leaders would never knowingly allow their units to engage...