The 1,440 minutes in each day disappear quickly. Let’s say you spend 480 of those minutes asleep and another 480 at work. That leaves one more chunk of 480 minutes — eight hours — for meals, commuting, after-school activities, exercise, chores, errands and perhaps some relaxation time. So where does Scouting fit in? We asked…

When Joshua Hoffman became a leader in Pack 141 in Sycamore, Ill., annual planning conferences took six hours or more — and sometimes required follow-up meetings. (Sound familiar?) In his three years as Cubmaster, he helped cut those meetings down to 2½ hours tops. And attendance at pack events began to regularly exceed 60%. The…

We can all recite the 12 points of the Scout Law. Did you know there was serious talk of a 13th? The committees launching the Boy Scouts of America drew on the nine-point Scout Law developed in 1908 for British Scouts by Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement. They added a few to…

Emergency Situation: You’re hiking with some friends in July at Zion National Park. It’s high noon when you begin to feel faint. Sweat pours down your forehead and into your eyes, causing you to stumble down the trail. You’re dizzy. You open your canteen for a drink of water, but it’s empty. Your pulse quickens,…

One of the most important documents in the Scouts BSA advancement program is the venerable “blue card” — officially known as the Application for Merit Badge. It’s available in packs of 25 or 100, or in a specially designed template for printing from Scoutbook. The document serves as a sort of passport while a Scout…

Coastal Carolina Council Wadmalaw Island, S.C. See what life was like in the late 1700s at Camp Ho Non Wah’s Bohicket Towne. The colonial village, set under Spanish moss-draped oak trees on the banks of a saltwater creek and lake, gives older Scouts the chance to create candles, rope, knives and period-style tools. Scouts don…

Navigation A topographic map for identifying landscape features on your hike remains required navigational gear. With a printed map, you don’t have to worry about battery life or electronics failing or getting dropped. Likewise, a compass is foolproof and simple; orienting a map using a compass should be one of the first skills any hiker…

If you’re like most parents, your to-do list is pretty long. But author and middle-school expert Michelle Icard says you should add something to it — or, rather, 14 somethings. In her book Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen (Harmony Books, 2021), Icard outlines a process for having a set of essential, ongoing conversations with your…

A handful of Florida Sea Base staffers (talk about having cool jobs!) recently sat down with the hosts of Scout Life magazine’s #Trekat2 live Facebook show to discuss all the things you can do at the Summit. You can watch the entire interview here. Below are five things we learned from our conversation. 1. The coral…