3 North Andover Cub Scouts Explored Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) during Council's First-Ever Discovery Camp Week

Three North Andover Cub Scouts was among 56 Cub Scouts and Webelos who participated in the council’s first-ever Discovery Camp, a week-long experience designed to engage the boys in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math as part of the Boy Scouts of America’s new S.T.E.M. initiative.

Held at the council’s Lone Tree Scout Reservation in Kingston, NH, the S.T.E.M. experience began on July 29 as enthusiastic Cub Scouts explored five program areas:

Representatives from I-Robot brought in small remote-controlled robots that the Cub Scouts got to maneuver.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard brought in small aquatic submersibles that could be controlled in a tank of water to pick up objects.

New Hampshire Fish and Wildlife Service offered presentations and demonstrations about the importance of preserving natural wonders.

Brian Lobao, a volunteer with the Yankee Clipper Council, conducted a program with the boys using a remote controlled helicopter equipped with a camera that could be maneuvered above the forest canopy.

The last area was a chemical reaction station run by the Lone Tree Staff mixing a variety of household items including vinegar and baking soda, and Mentos and Diet Coke.

In the days that followed, the Scouts went to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center to learn about astronomy and space exploration and to the tide pools at Rye Beach where they explored the ecosystem and learned about the animals that inhabit this extreme environment.

“The words of the Scout Motto are ‘Be Prepared.’ Sadly, most of America’s youth are not,” Lobao pointed out in an article published in the Council’s “Donor Digest” newsletter. “In the United States, there is a shortage of students proficient in math and science. Compared to other countries, our young generation ranks 25th in math and 17th in science. Even in today’s troubled economy, there are 3 million jobs that go unfilled because the candidates lack qualified math and science skills.”

According to the Boy Scouts of America, 10-year employment projections by the U.S. Department of Labor show that of the 20 fastest-growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant mathematics or science preparation.

Noting that many existing Scouting programs already address these fields – from animal science to weather – the Scouts have taken on the S.T.E.M. initiative to encourage the natural curiosity of youth members and their sense of wonder about these fields to help them develop skills critical for the competitive world market.

For more information about Discovery Camp, the S.T.E.M. initiative and Scouting, visit yccbsa.org.

About Yankee Clipper Council, Boy Scouts of America

Yankee Clipper Council, Boy Scouts of America, headquartered at 36 Amesbury Road in Haverhill, Massachusetts, serves 7,700 young men and women, ages 6 to 20, through 232 Scouting units in 52 cities and towns of Northeast Massachusetts and Southeast New Hampshire. In the past year, 181 young men achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, a 3 percent increase over the previous year. The Eagle Scout projects led by those Eagle Scouts represent over 13,000 service hours in their communities. The Council’s Boy Scouts earned 6,522 Merit Badges. The Council’s Cub and Boy Scouts recorded over 15,000 days of camping on Council properties. For more information, visit yccbsa.org or contact Kevin Nicholas at 978-372-0591 or knichols@bsamail.org.