Photo courtesy of Boy Scouts of America Greater St. Louis Council.
Still wanting to offer its members the same stimulating programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Boy Scouts of America has gone digital. Local troops have held camp-outs, badge-earning sessions, and STEM activities virtually.
Troop leader John Hargett has reimagined the way that his troop teaches its members to much success. Hargett, who along with his wife became a troop leader when his sons joined scouting, says he didn’t want the kids to lose interest and potentially drop scouts during the pandemic.
So Hargett started holding virtual sessions for scouts to learn cooking and other skills. Also offered were bimonthly STEM activities: simple science experiments and other lessons using materials that the kids could find in their homes. He would practice each step of the experiment to ensure everything ran smoothly during the Zoom call.
Hargett’s troop also held an entire virtual camp over the summer, with three sessions per day for a week in which scouts could earn merit badges. He also helped arrange yard signs and a drive-by parade of troop leaders to give some pomp and circumstance to children leveling up in the organization.
“The van convoy passed every scout’s house, and we were all in uniform,” Hargett says. "The kids were so happy; they were smiling from ear to ear.”
In addition to scouts learning and earning badges online, another outcome during the pandemic has been that more people are finding time to get outside. Boy Scouts of America encouraged this trend by welcoming families to do socially distanced outdoor activities at its properties. Families could camp, hike, fish, ride horses, and more at any of its eight St. Louis area campgrounds, most notably the 2,400-acre Beaumont Scout Reservation near Eureka.
The newly envisioned offerings are all backed by The Greater St. Louis Area Council, one of the largest councils in the Boy Scouts of America organization. The district covers 51 counties across southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and the St. Louis metropolitan area, and it governs more than 66,000 members and 15,000 adult volunteers. More than 1,000 community groups charter scouting units in the area.
The council is one of only a few in the country to offer STEM programming to all of its units, delivered in an age-appropriate and exciting format. Boy Scouts of America held its annual STEM Fair as a virtual event, inviting scouts to complete a science experiment and have it judged all online.
Another St. Louis troop leader, Mark Barnes, explains that troops across the district took their cues from the organization's leadership and got creative with how to maintain scouts’ interest.
“We knew there were some things that could be done virtually, so we focused on those merit badges and supplemented them,” Barnes says.
His troop partnered with a graduate student for an archeology project, for instance, and led a small group in an overnight hike. They also set up opportunities for older scouts to be teachers to younger scouts.
“It didn’t replace in-person, but it helped,” Barnes says. “We did more small-group outdoor activities that had unique challenges for them to get excited about.”
Not every event could be reimagined as a virtual or small-group session. ScoutFest 2020, a weekend-long camping event that occurs once a decade in Forest Park and was expected to draw more 20,000 people from October 2–4, had to be rescheduled to 2021.
Even with the disappointment, the scouts are still excited to welcome new and returning members this year. For children from kindergarten to fifth grade, Cub Scouts can introduce them to outdoor adventures, community-service projects, and a pinewood derby. Children ages 11–17 can join Scouts BSA, in which they can earn badges and increase their rank in the organization through service projects and achievements.
Two additional programs are offered for ages 14–20: The Venturing program adds the lessons of scouting to high-adventure outdoor activities, and the Explore program connects scouts with area professionals, encouraging scouts to start planning for their desired careers.
This post was created by SLM Partner Studio on behalf of Boy Scouts of America. For more information, visit the Greater Saint Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America's website.
