CUB SCOUT PACK 964
CURIOSITY UNLEASHED
Our scouts are already learning a lot about subjects that cover STEM and/or STEAM through home, school and even outdoor activities. Lucky for us, we live in a resourceful region that abounds with opportunities to visit museums, events and even science labs at local schools and universities to allow younger children the opportunity for in-depth learning and hands-on activities to help expand their knowledge, cultivate their interest and expose them to the possibilities waiting for them beyond scouts & school if they wish to peruse them.
Cub Scout Pack 964 makes every effort to offer these opportunities at den meetings; and at the very least, offer the information for more opportunities in relation to the subjects already covered through scout adventures. We hope your scout's interest is enough to entice you (the parents) to take him on adventures where these interactive opportunities present themselves, close to home, at little or no cost to families.
ADVENTURES
Every scout has at least one requirement to serve/participate in a "STEM" related activity. This often involves visiting with a local expert/teacher in a STEM related field. Other requirements may involve at-home projects that require observation over a period of time, planning & executing experiments, be able to tell/explain what they see, what they predict, what they learned.
Some leaders may not fully be able to expand on the STEM adventure, but perhaps you have an expertise/skill in the subject, or connections to someone who could visit our Pack/Dens, or have found an event and could plan an outing to that location, or that expert's place of work for a more in-depth experience in relation to the subject covered. If so, please let your den leader know if you're able to assist in any of these activities; perhaps you can lead that adventure. I'm certain your den leader will welcome your input. Our EVENTS page (more on Facebook) has links to area events, most of which have activities for the whole family to participate in relation to STEM activities.
Achieve STEM/STEAM Requirements
for Den Adventures:
LIONS: "Gadgets & GIzmos"
TIGERS: "Curiosity, Intrigue...", "Rolling Tigers", "Sky is the Limit".
WOLVES: "Motor Away", "Collections/Hobbies", "Code of the Wolf", "Air of the Wolf"
BEARS: "Robotics", "Make it Move" & "Super Science", "Baloo the Builder"
WEBELOS: "Adventures in Science", "Earth Rocks" & "Engineering", "Build It".
For Wolves through Webelos:
If your scout has completed all rank requirements and electives related to STEM, and would like to continue participation in other STEM adventures, your scout can work towards earning STEM NOVA Awards. Check out this link to see how far you've gotten towards this award or to begin.
NOTE: Activities must be in addition to similar activities for rank advancement.
Pack 964 could benefit from having a trained STEM NOVA Counselor on-site. Please let us know if you're a parent interested in helping in this way. You may apply and begin to train today. Please refer to the following links for more information. If you are able to attend STEM University for more in-depth training, your training cost/free can be covered by Pack 964. Please let us know.
List of some area ANNUAL STEM EVENTS many area scouts attend:
Mid SEP STEM Family Camping Camp Snyder
Mid OCT Prince William Recycles Woodbridge Landfill off 234 (blends Recycling, Science & Art)
Early NOV VA Tech Maker Fest VATechCtr, Falls Church
Mid NOV Annual Gem/Fossil Show GMU Fairfax
Late JAN. 25 HayMaker STEAM Expo Battlefield High School
Mid FEB. Hands-On STEM Event NoVA Woodbridge Campus
APR 25&26 2020 USA Science & Engineering Fest* Convention Ctr, Washington, DC
Mid APR Geology Lab GMU for (Webelos/4th grade+)
Late APR STEM Symposium Nysmith School in Herndon, VA
Late APR STEM Day NOVA Manassas Campus
Late MAY CATWORTS** Battlefied HS for Wolves +
(Registration for this is 1st come, 1st served starting each Mar/Apr.)
Early JUN STEM Faire GMU Campus
Late JUN & JUL SPY Camp (3 full days) Prince William Forest Park (Webelos/4th grade+)
(Registration for this is 1st come, 1st served starting each January.)
JUN & JUL GSK Science in the Summer Area Libraries, for Wolves+.
(Registration is 1st come, 1st served, check EXPLORE magazine (PWC Library) for dates, times, locations.)
Ongoing Water Quality Monitoring Area creeks/watersheds. Outdoor Environmental Science class
blends science with community service.
*This event takes place every other year, around the same weekend. Don't miss out!
(**Fee based event. If you miss registration deadline, check w/director, they'll add you to program if room exists.)
Note: Most are STEM Fairs/Expos begin at 10 am, are free & open to the public, family friendly events.
ALSO! Don't forget to take a copy of your rank requirements, perhaps you'll be able to cover an adventure while you're out learning & having fun.